Rock Bottom
by denofsin
Summary: Bella Swan has hit rock bottom. She flunked out of college and has to move back home with her father. But when she gets a job at Sofie’s Restaurant and meets Edward Cullen and his friends, things begin look up. But for how long? Will Bella push him away?
1. Rock Bottom

**AN: Hello! *waves* This is my first Twilight fanfiction. I've written fanfiction before, but this is my first try at Twilight. I hope you like it!**

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So this is rock bottom.

Moving back home to Washington with my father because I had a breakdown and failed out of college. A year ago, if someone told me this would be my fate, I would have died of laughter. But it's not funny now. Not at all.

In high school, I was the "smart girl." Everyone always knew that I would have the answer. I tried hard to be as good as I was, and I loved school. So what happened between high school and college? I wish I knew. I guess I was just tired of being the smart girl. It was thrilling to be able to just blow off a class or two, or a whole week. No one cared. I became the slacker, and it excited me. But, it turns out, not going to class or handing in assignments does not equal good grades. Before I knew what was happening, I was failing all but one of my classes, and that class I was border line failing. I just lost it all. The will to _want_ to go to class, or do work. College wasn't as effortless as high school had been. So, much to my mother's dismay, I left. I left my mother and the University of Arizona behind. I had failed my way out of college.

My mother was disappointed, to say the least. She had always pushed her budding "smart girl" to the limit. I'm fairly sure I took every AP class that my high school had to offer. She wanted me to reach my potential. In actuality, I needed to reach her potential she wanted for me. Apparently I couldn't do that. Maybe I wasn't as smart as I thought all along. I was her ultimate disappointment.

So now, I'm going home to my father. I haven't seen Charlie in 5 years. I stopped coming up to see him when I started high school. I didn't want to be away from my friends at the time, but looking back, none of them were really my friends in the first place. The only boyfriend I had ever had broke my heart during my junior year of high school. I lost most of my friends when I lost him. The only person who I kept in contact with was Alice, who went to school in Portland anyway. So I wasn't missing out by leaving Arizona. Forks would be a starting over point. I'm sure that people remembered me up there, but I didn't care. I could be anything I wanted to be. No one knew who I was now. I wasn't even sure I knew who I was at this point. I had a whole summer to figure it out.

***

Charlie beamed when I got off the plane in Port Angeles.

"Bells! I missed you!" He pulled me into a one armed hug and squeezed tight.

"I missed you too, dad," I said, returning the hug. My dad and I had been pretty close. I talked to him on the phone a lot even though I didn't come to visit. When my mom called and said I was coming there because I failed out of college, he told me that it didn't matter to him, that I could come stay for as long as I needed.

The drive to Forks was quiet. Charlie knew that I probably didn't want to talk about school, so he didn't bring it up. He just asked neutral questions before he finally left me to my thoughts.

Forks was rainy and green. As much as I had always loved Arizona and its hot days and cool nights, I really did love Forks. Everything just seemed so lush, so full of life. It seemed like the perfect place for a new beginning, a new life.

When we pulled up to Charlie's house, I smiled. It was still the same. This hadn't changed., Eexcept for a red pickup truck in the front yard. That didn't belong here.

"Dad? What is that?" I asked.

"Oh, that." Charlie had put the cruiser in park and was now rubbing the back of his neck nervously. "A good friend of mine gave it to me. He rebuilt the engine and everything, and I was thinking that you needed a means of getting around while you were up here, so I bought it off of him." He chanced a sheepish glance at me.

"Oh." I didn't know what to say to him. This was probably the nicest thing anyone had done for me. And to be perfectly honest, I didn't think I deserved it. "Dad, you really didn't have to. I would have done all this myself. I don't want to burden you because I screwed up and had to come up here."

"Nonsense. I wanted to." I simply nodded. I was in complete awe that my dad had done this for me. I chose not to argue with him. I would pay him back though. I couldn't let him just give me this for nothing.

He gathered my bags and started towards the house. I lingered behind, making my way to my new truck. It was big, really big. I was pretty sure I was going to have to take a running leap to get into it. But surprisingly, I liked it. It was unique and I really did need a way to get around. I was planning on going to find a job as soon as possible. That was an adventure for Alice and I to tackle this weekend. She was staying in Port Angeles this summer and I was planning on spending most of my free time with her.

"Bella? Are you coming in?" Charlie called from the porch.

As I made my way into the house, I stopped and patted Charlie on the shoulder and smiled at him.

"Thanks, Dad. Really, I appreciate it"

He smiled awkward at me and mumbled a soft "no problem" before turning and going into the house. I followed him in and grabbed my bags.

"I'm just going to head up and get settled, maybe take a shower. I'll be down in a bit and we can talk about dinner, ok?"

He nodded and turned to head to the living room. I started up the stairs and into my childhood bedroom. When I walked in, everything looked much the same. My dad had gotten the room repainted and there was a new set of linens on the bed. I smiled at the care Charlie had taken so I would feel welcome and comfortable here. He told me I could stay for however long I needed to find myself.

I unpacked quickly, not really having brought much with me; only 2 suitcases of clothes and other necessities. I decided a quick shower would do me some good after a long day of traveling.

Charlie's house had two bathrooms, a master bathroom, and a slightly smaller one down the hall from my bedroom. I grabbed my toiletries and headed into the bathroom, setting up my things on the counter. I took a quick shower, and stepped out feeling much better. I dressed and headed back downstairs to get dinner squared away.

I went downstairs and popped my head into the living room.

"Hey dad, what do you think you want for dinner?"

He smiled at me. "Actually, I ordered a pizza while you were in the shower. I didn't want you to have to cook dinner on your first night here, especially after you traveled all day."

"Thank you." I smiled, not really knowing what else to say. Being with my dad was such a departure from living with my mother. She was cold and clinical and never went out of her wait way to do something nice for me. Charlie on the other hand was doing everything in his power to make me happy. Maybe that's why their marriage never worked out in the first place.

I sat down on the couch to watch TV with him. I giggled softly at his choice of programming.

"_Gilmore Girls_ is still your guilty pleasure?" I looked over to find him blushing a bit and slight mortification covering his features.

"Maybe…", he hedged.

I laughed more fully this time but attempted to placate him. "It's ok, you know it's still one of my favorites too."

He looked a bit relieved, but still red faced. We watched in comfortable silence until there was a knock on the door.

"I'll get it; it's probably the pizza." He got up and headed toward the front door while I headed to the kitchen to get the plates and glasses ready. He walked in and set the pizza on the table and turned to get a beer from the fridge. I plated the pizza and sat down. We ate for a bit before Charlie started to look uncomfortable.

"Dad, are you okay?" I was a bit concerned that his dinner wasn't agreeing with him.

He shot me a quick glance before glancing back down at his plate. "Yeah, I'm fine." He paused for a moment before continuing. "While you were in the shower, your mom called to make sure you got here all right." He continued not to meet my gaze.

I hesitated. "That was…nice of her." I was surprised she even cared. I hadn't bothered to even call her to let her know I got here. I didn't think she would care. "Did she say anything else?" My voice was much quieter now.

This time Charlie looked up at me, a sympathetic look in his eyes. "No. She just thanked me for letting her know, and hung up. I'm sorry, Bella. I'm sorry that she's being this way."

I shook my head at him. "Don't worry about it. She's always been this way, you know that." I smiled weakly. "Let's just finish dinner, okay?"

His eyes lingered on my face, concern still evident in his face before he nodded and went back to eating his pizza. The dark mood quickly vanished as he caught me up on the things he had been up to in the past few years. After we had been talking for a while, I noticed that all the pizza was gone and we were just sitting and laughing. I had really missed Charlie.

He looked up and the clock and gasped. "The Mariners game is on! I almost forgot!" He started to get up and stopped. He looked at me and smiled, placing a hand on my shoulder. "It's good to have you home, kiddo." I nodded at him and ushered him into the living room before I cleaned up the plates and headed into the living room.

"Dad, I'm wiped; I'm just going to head off to bed. I'll see you in the morning." He looked up from the TV and smiled.

"Ok, good night, Bells. Sleep well." I waved and headed up to bed. I quickly went through my nightly routine and headed to my bedroom. I turned on my cell phone and was assaulted with 17 text messages from Alice, all asking if I had gotten to Charlie's yet. I sighed and shook my head, sending off a short message letting her know that I was here and alive, and that I was going to bed. I also promised her that I would call her when I got up in the morning.

I crawled into bed and sighed contentedly. Maybe it would be good for me here. I could be someone else, someone who was fun and had more friends. Who knows what this new life for me here could hold.

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**So? How did you like it? Things you loved? Things you hated? Let me know. :)**


	2. Job Hunt

**Hi, I'm back with chapter 2. I got into a bit of a mood and decided to write chapter 2. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight or any of its characters. **

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Morning dawned bright and surprisingly sunny. I rolled out of bed, grabbed my cell phone, and headed downstairs. Apparently I had slept later than I thought, because Charlie was on his way out the door as I walked into the kitchen.

"Morning, sleepyhead." He drained the rest of his coffee and set the mug in the sink. "Have to head down to the station a little early this morning; will you be all right here by yourself today?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine." I scowled at my phone. "I'm sure Alice will want to see me and subsequently drag me all over the state of Washington." I rolled my eyes as Charlie began to laugh.

"She is a fiery one, isn't she?"

I sighed, "You have no idea."

"All right then, I'm glad you aren't going to sit here alone all day. I might be late tonight though, one of the lieutenants called out this morning and I have to cover his shift as well as mine. Have a good day, Bells." He smiled at me and headed out the door.

I rummaged through the kitchen to find something for breakfast, finally settling on some cereal and toast. I was surprised, as I looked around the kitchen, at how clean and well kept his whole house was. He was a bachelor, so I would assume that he really didn't need to keep the house as clean as he did. Maybe he cleaned it all for my arrival. Or maybe he had a maid. I snorted to myself at the last thought.

I finished up my breakfast and put the dishes in the dishwasher. I walked back to the table and picked up my cell phone, dialing Alice's number.

It rang twice before her excited voice flooded into my ear.

"Bella!" she crowed through the phone.

"Morning Al, how are you?"

"Much better now. How is everything? How's Charlie?"

"He's really good. I'm glad to be home with him. He's so much more tolerable than Renee." Well, that was an understatement.

"Good, good. So I was wondering if you had anything in mind to do today?" I know she wasn't trying not to sound eager, but I knew her too well.

"Well I was about to jump in the shower and then I was thinking of driving to Port Angeles to look for a job."

She squealed. "Oh how exciting! Can I come with you?"

"Of course you can, I would enjoy the company. I have no idea how to do any of this; you know that Renee never let me have a real job, because it would interfere with my school work. I'm kind of nervous and excited for the prospect of a job." I was probably more nervous at this point than anything else.

"Good! You will do just fine. Did you have any ideas of what kind of job you wanted?"

I thought for a moment as I started up the stairs to my room. I really hadn't thought about it, actually. What was I even qualified to do?

"I literally have no idea, Alice. Is that bad?" How was I supposed to get a job when I wasn't qualified for anything?

"Not at all," she placated softly. "There are so many things that you can do, especially in Port Angeles. We will drive around and you can just pick up some applications. How does that sound?"

I sighed. This is why I had Alice. She always knew the right things to say.

"That sounds good actually. I'm going to take a quick shower. Where do you want to meet in Port Angeles?"

"Uh." She sounded a bit reluctant to answer.

"What's the matter, Alice?"

"Well, I'm already about halfway to your house right now. If you hadn't called, I was planning on surprising you." She sounded a little embarrassed.

I laughed. She was still the same Alice. "That's fine. If you get here and I don't answer, just let yourself in, okay?"

"Okay, I'll see you in a bit!"

Twenty minutes later, I walked into the living room to see Alice settled on the couch watching TV.

"Hey." I said as I walked in.

"Hi!" She called excitedly. I hadn't seen her in about 8 months, so I would be lying if I said I wasn't just excited to see her.

She jumped up and threw herself at me, squeezing tightly. She was a good 5 inches shorter than me, so I hugged her tight and lifted her off the ground a bit. She giggled, and I put her back down.

"I missed you, Al! God, you don't know how good it is too see you."

She rolled her eyes. "I think I have a good idea." I huffed at her. She grinned. "But enough of that. Let's hit the road! We have to get you a job!" And she turned on her heel and marched out of the house. I just shook my head and followed.

Port Angeles was a bit of a drive from Forks, but it wasn't too bad. By the time we got into the city it was around lunch time. We drove around for a bit before we saw a quaint looking restaurant named Sofie's.

"Oh, let's eat there, Bella, my treat. I've been there a few times and the food is so good."

I didn't have any objections, and we pulled into the lot.

We walked in and I instantly fell in love with this restaurant. It had a country home feeling, kind of like Charlie's house.

There was a bit of a lunch crowd, so we had to stand for a few minutes before we were sat. As we stood off to the side of the hostess stand, Alice leaned over to me.

"Maybe you should ask for an application while we are here. You never know."

I wasn't so sure food service and I would go together well.

"Alice, I don't know. I doubt I would be a very good waitress."

She raised her eyebrows at me.

"No one said you had to be a waitress. You could be a hostess. Even _you_ could do that," she winked at me. I sighed.

"Fine. If this ends horribly, I will blame you."

She just smiled at me and shoved me towards the hostess stand.

The hostess, her name tag said her name was Angela, looked very flustered when I approached. When she saw me she sighed.

"I know the wait is kind of long, I'm sorry. I will get you a table as soon as I can."

I quickly waved her off. "No, I don't mind about the wait. I was just wondering if you had any applications around? I'm looking to get a job."

She stared for a moment before her face broke out into a smile.

"Of course we do! You have no idea how much we need the help right now. This is peak tourism season right now…" She continued to ramble as she rifled through the hostess stand looking for the applications. I glanced back at Alice, who apparently had been eavesdropping, because she had a large grin on her face. I looked back at Angela who had finally retrieved an application.

"…and we are ALWAYS understaffed for lunch, I mean just LOOK at this place. We could use another hostess badly. Here you go. You can fill it out while you eat and give it back to me on your way out." She smiled at me and I thanked her and turned to walk back to Alice. But Angela called me back.

"Oh and your table is ready."

We followed her though the crowded dining room to a booth against a window. As we waited for our server, I started to fill out the application with Alice's help. She had had quite a few jobs in her day and she understood what they were asking me better than I did. She was telling me what I should put down for my hourly rate when we heard a throat clearing.

Our server was tall, blonde, and very good looking. He smiled down at the both of us before introducing himself.

"Hi, I'm Jasper, I will be your server this afternoon. Can I start you off with some drinks?"

I looked over at Alice, waiting for her to order first like she always did. But when I looked at her, I was met with the most amusing sight I had ever seen.

Alice was staring at our waiter with a dreamy, glazed over look on her face. I almost laughed right out loud at her. But, being a good friend, I covered for her.

"I'll have a diet coke and she will have an unsweetened iced tea."

Jasper looked over at Alice for a moment, concern on his face, before he glanced back at me and smiled. "Sure thing. I'll be right back with those."

As he walked away, I turned back to Alice with an amused look on my face. She was watching his retreating figure with a silly grin on her face. I decided to burst her bubble.

"You okay there, Al?" I poked her arm.

She seemed to snap out of her trance and smiled at me. But a look of sheer horror spread across her face.

"Oh my God, Bella. I just stared at him like an idiot! He probably thought I was mentally challenged. Oh, God this is horrible. He was so good looking and he will probably never look twice at me now because I just acted like an idiot!"

I tried to contain my laughter at her, I really did. But I couldn't help it. Her face had turned bright red and she was glaring at me now.

"Oh don't look at me like that, Alice. I'm sure that he barely noticed. I'm sure that he has already forgotten by now. Stop worrying so much and when he comes back with the drinks, don't look at him like that."

She looked worried calmed down considerably. We looked over our menus and had decided before he arrived with the drinks. When he appeared, he smiled at me again and glanced at Alice before a smile spread across his face at her too. Apparently he was relieved that she was actually a functioning human being.

"Have you ladies decided on what you are going to have for lunch?"

Alice, seemingly having regained her confidence and brain function, ordered her chicken fried chicken eagerly, batting her eyelashes. Jasper looked sufficiently charmed with her and smiled wide. I giggled to myself. Having seemingly remembered I was there, he turned to me and I ordered simple cheeseburger and fries. He glanced again at Alice before he left.

"Nice save," I complimented her. She giggled quietly and just shook her head.

Lunch passed without any more problems and pretty soon we were on our way out the door, after Alice left Jasper a handsome tip and wink. I handed the completed application to Angela, who, now that the lunch rush had died down, looked a bit calmer.

"I'm sure someone will call you within a day or two, we really do need the help. See you soon!" I smiled and nodded and followed Alice out. As we made our way to her car she suddenly had a very devilish look on her face.

"Well I don't think we have to look around for jobs anywhere else, I think you have this one in the bag."

I was wary as to where this was heading. "Okay…"

"So I was thinking we should kill some time," she paused for dramatic effect, "And go shopping!"

I groaned but laughed. "All right."

She squealed in delight and jumped into her car. As we pulled out onto the main drag in Port Angeles, she looked over at me and smiled.

"You know, I really hope you get this job. The employees are all so attractive."

I rolled my eyes at her. "Yes, Alice. I'm sure they are all as attractive as our waiter was."

She looked over at me and winked. "I'm sure they are, Bella. I'm sure they are."

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	3. Sofie's

**So here is chapter 3. It fought with me a bit, but _finally_ Edward is here. :)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight or any of its characters. **

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Three days later I was on my way back to Sofie's for my first day. Sofie herself had called me the morning after my lunch with Alice, and practically begged me to come on board as a hostess. I was ecstatic, to say the least, about getting a job so quickly. But, here I was on my way there, not sure what was waiting for me.

I pulled up to Sofie's about half an hour before my shift was starting. Angela and Sofie were going to go over the basics with me and then ease me into hostessing with a Tuesday lunch. Sofie had said on the phone that that was one of their quietest times during the week, so that would be the best time for me to train without it being too overwhelming.

When I walked in, Angela smiled brightly at me.

"Hey, Bella! See, I knew you would get the job." I laughed and shook my head at her.

"Ok, let me get you all set up over here and I will go get Sofie." We walked together to a table near the kitchen and I sat down. She disappeared and I started to look at the papers in front of me. After a few minutes, I heard a throat clear and someone sat down across from me. Looking up, I recognized our waiter from Saturday, Jasper.

"Well, hello there." His smile was wide the moment our eyes met.

"Hi", I said shyly.

"You were here the other day for lunch, right?"

I was surprised that he would even remember me, but I smiled at him. "Yeah, I came for lunch with my friend, Alice." I hoped that Alice knew she owed me one for mentioning her to him. He smiled wider at the mention of her name, but made no comment.

"Ah, so now you are working here. Are you nervous?" Jasper seemed very friendly and easy to talk to.

"A little bit," I admitted.

"Don't worry, it won't be too bad. We are all very nice around here. How about this, I'll give you the real run down on this place before Sofie gets here and tells you what she wants you to hear." He raised his eyebrows at me.

I leaned forward eagerly to hear what he had to say. He grinned wickedly.

"That," he pointed to a tall slightly muscular man, about 22, that was currently carrying out drinks, "is Emmett. He is everyone's big brother. If you ever have a problem, go to him and it will get solved. No questions asked. He has a younger brother, Edward. He works here too; you will probably meet him later today. That over there," he pointed to a leggy blonde who was sitting at the counter texting on her cell phone, "is Rosalie. She's the best waitress we have here. She tends to be a bit stand-offish, so don't be too terribly upset if she doesn't like you. She is also Emmett's long-time girlfriend. Emmett is friendly, but don't get too friendly with him. It won't end well." He flashed me a look to let me know he was kidding, but not really. "Mary," he continued, "has been here for a while; she's kind of shy though. She's really very sweet. I think you will like her. You've already met Angela; she's a very good hostess, so you will be learning from the best. Sofie, well, she's just Sofie. You will see exactly what I mean when you meet her. There are more people that work here…"

"And what exactly does that mean, Jasper? 'Well, she's just Sofie'" Jasper's rant was interrupted by a petite middle-aged woman with short jet black hair. Jasper's smile froze on his face and he looked towards Sofie with a look of embarrassment and a trace of fear. He recovered quickly though.

"All I meant is that you are the loveliest boss I have ever had." He smiled at her and the hard look on her face slipped away, and she shook her head.

"Don't you have work to do, Jasper Whitlock? Lunch starts in 20 minutes, is your section ready?" She raised her eyebrows at him.

He just laughed. "I'm going, I'm going." He turned and smiled at me. "Good luck, Bella. I'll see you in a bit." And he walked off where he was intercepted by Emmett, who struck up a conversation with him.

Sofie, who was now sitting across from me, smiled.

"Watch out for him, he's quite the charmer."

I laughed. Jasper was good looking, but not my type. "Oh, no worries. When we were here the other day, I think my best friend called dibs."

Sofie smiled at me and we started to go over the table charts, with the breakdown of sections and table numbers. After we had gone over it a few times, I was feeling confident that I had retained enough information to be somewhat helpful today during lunch. Jasper wasn't kidding about Sofie though. She was serious and meant business. But she seemed fun and lighthearted at the same time. I liked her already.

When we finished up, it was a little after 12 and Angela and I headed toward the hostess stand. Emmett was making his way over to us before Sofie interrupted him.

"Emmett, where is your brother? He was scheduled at 12. Do you know what time it is now?" Emmett looked a bit afraid and shook his head. "It's after 12. He's late, and he is in trouble when he gets here."

As if on cue, the front door opened and in walked, who I presumed was Edward because of the death glare Sofie leveled at him. Everyone was now staring at Edward.

"Well look who decided to show that pretty little face of his."

His eyes scanned all of the faces that were looking at him, lingering a moment on me, probably because I was the only unfamiliar face in the bunch.

"What are you so riled up about Sofie?" He glanced at his cell phone. "Oh, I am twelve minutes late. TWELVE. Excuse me that there was an accident on route one-oh-one. I'll anticipate that next time and leave twelve minutes earlier. I'm so very sorry, Madam Sofie, please forgive me." He smiled very sweetly at her and then pouted slightly.

She glared for another moment before rolling her eyes at him. "Why am I incapable of staying mad at any of you? You do have a cell phone, Edward so you could have at least called to let me know that you were running late. I am training a new hostess today and I don't need you pulling this shit. So be on time this week, and if that means leaving twelve minutes earlier, then by all means." He grinned at her and nodded. She just shook her head at him.

"Now, Edward, please meet Bella, she is the new hostess." He smiled at me and waved and I had the sudden urge to fan myself. He was very good looking if I said so myself. Tall and lean, at least foot, maybe taller, with a full mess of brownish red hair. I wondered if he hadn't brushed it before leaving for work, or if that's just the way it was.

I smiled shyly and waved back. His smile became a little crooked.

"Now, Prince Charming, go get ready to work. The next table that comes in is yours, so you better be ready for it." Sofie gave him a pointed look.

He smiled cockily at her and kissed her cheek before sliding into the back to get ready for his shift.

"What a charming bastard he is. If I had a nickel for everytime he was late and I let him get away with it, I would be a very rich woman. He is just lucky I've known him for a long time. And I know his mother." She just shook her head again. "Ok, Bella. Are you ready for all the fun?"

***

Four hours later, with a busier lunch than Sofie had anticipated, I was exhausted. It had finally died down before the dinner rush, but my shift was pretty much over. I had done pretty well for myself, only really screwing up once. I double sat Emmett instead of seating Edward. I felt like such an idiot but Edward had calmed me down. I was standing at the hostess stand glaring at the seating chart when he had come up to me.

"Hey, don't worry about it. I know that you are probably kicking yourself right now, but it's not a big deal. It's your first day." I looked up at him when he finished and I was met with very sincere green eyes. He was much closer than he had been before, and he was much more attractive up close.

"I know," I responded, not really meeting his eyes. "I just wanted to be good at this."

"You will be, don't worry. Like I said, it's your first day." He smiled at me and patted my arm before disappearing.

Now, I was walking towards the back, to the table I had sat in when I had talked to Sofie. This was the "employee table". Everyone sat here when they weren't supposed to. I collapsed down into the bench and put my head in my hands.

"You okay there?" I looked up to see Jasper looking down at me.

"Yeah, I'm fine, just a little tired. I'll be all right." He smiled and headed into the kitchen. I followed him with my eyes and saw him start a conversation with the cook, and Sofie's husband, Sid. He was a bit younger than her, but she adored him.

"Well kid, you did a good job for your first day." Sofie had plopped down across from me at the table. "Much better than the last hostess we had. She lasted about a week." She had angry look on her face before she smiled at me. "Are you hungry? I'll have Sid make you something before you go, my treat. How about a grilled cheese and tomato soup? Sid's is the best in the world."

That sounded pretty good actually.

I nodded. "Sure Sofie that would be really nice." She beamed, and headed into the kitchen.

Her seat was quickly occupied by Edward. He was grinning at me. He always seemed to be grinning.

"You did well today, Bella. Much better than that other girl we had a few weeks ago."

I smiled back at him. "So I've heard. What happened?"

His smile became a bit bitter and he took a fake exasperated breath.

"She really didn't work. She stood there and made everyone else work. Angela is a nice girl, and even she hated her. She was mean to everyone too. Especially poor Mary. Mary is really shy and quiet, and this girl was a complete hag to her. Rosalie contemplated taking her out back and inflicting bodily harm." He looked amused for the moment at the prospect. "The only person she didn't hate was me. She wouldn't leave me alone actually." He shot me a glance. "Sofie fired her when she caught her attempting to corner me in the kitchen. Thank God Sid was there because this girl almost tried to make it like I was taking advantage of her. What a trip that was."

I stared at him for a long moment. I felt bad for him. But he just smiled at me.

"I'm glad you are here though. You seem like a keeper. Even if you did shaft me a table today." His eyes held mischief but my face flushed and I averted my eyes.

He leaned in. "Hey, I was kidding. Don't worry about it." He smiled again, this time his eye wrinkled at the corners. It was a very good look on him.

"All right, Edward, get back to work. Now."

Sofie was back and she was glaring at Edward again. He smiled brightly at me before sliding out and heading into the kitchen. Sofie placed a generous portion of tomato soup and a grilled cheese sandwich in front of me.

"Eat up, sweetheart. When you are finished, you can head on home, and I will see you at the same time tomorrow. Okay? You did good today." She squeezed my arm and then disappeared.

I ate and got my things together to leave. Just as I was heading towards the front, I heard Sofie yelling and turned to see her chasing Edward out of the kitchen. He had a handful of French fries and a smile on his face. Sofie was standing at the kitchen door fuming with a sheepish looking Sid behind her.

Edward saw me leaving and waved.

"See you tomorrow, Bella!" That smirk on his face was starting to make me swoon. I waved back and headed out to my truck.

I was really going to like working here.


	4. Jellybean

Chapter 4! I hope that everyone likes it :)

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When I arrived home, Charlie was in the living room watching TV. A smile spread on my face when he saw me.

"How was your first day? You look beat," he chuckled.

I sighed and plopped down on the couch. "I am beat. It was busier than it was supposed to be. It's going to be exhausting working there."

He looked worried for a moment. "Do you think you will be able to handle it…now?"

I knew what he was trying to ask. He was asking if I could handle this kind of pressure since my "break down" as my mother referred to it. According to her, I was unstable because I had flunked out. She had called a few times since I had come to Washington to ask my father about my "condition". Did I really come across as a mental patient?

"I'm fine, dad. It's really not as bad as I'm making it out to be." I smiled at him reassuringly. "I really like it there already."

He seemed relieved and asked me if I liked the people I worked with so far. I smiled and nodded.

"I'm sure I'm really going to like every one there."

***

The remainder of my training week went by without any real issue. I got the hang of it all very quickly and even remained calm during the Friday dinner rush. Best of all, Edward and I had become fast friends. I had worked everyday with him. He was always asking for my help on things, or just screwing around and standing at the host stand with me. Sofie didn't like that too much

He and I talked a lot during our breaks too. It turns out that he went through something almost exactly the same thing I had during his first year of college. He had been at Dartmouth and had just sunk into a kind of depression when he was there. He had been accepted with a scholarship, but things just went wrong and he started failing his classes. He begged his parents to let him come home, and they had agreed. He had transferred to a school closer to home, and he lived in a cottage in the far corner of his parents' expansive property. They didn't even make him pay any rent, and gave him the privacy he needed.

He was a very sarcastic and jovial person too. He was constantly picking on me for something, but I really didn't mind, I liked spending time with him.

And somehow, he had given me a nickname. Jellybean.

I don't know how it happened, but he called me it one day and it stuck. It made me feel warm inside every time he called me Jellybean. I think I probably liked it more than I should.

***

It was Sunday now, and Sofie was having some sort of lunch promotion. I had to be there early to help set up all of the decorations and help get the restaurant in shape for the amount of people that would be coming in and out. There was even a clown and face painting in the parking lot. My dad was planning on stop by, as well as Alice. But then again, she was probably coming to size up Jasper some more.

I was standing near the front, next to the host stand; with a helium tank blowing up God knows how many balloons. Sofie was losing her mind, like always, fretting that things wouldn't be ready in time. She was also yelling at Jasper and Emmett, who, instead of cleaning tables and rolling silverware, they had gotten into rag-snap war. They were chasing each other and whipping the other with the end of a dishrag. It would have been more amusing if Sofie wasn't screaming so much.

I was about halfway through the bag of balloons Sofie had handed me when Edward appeared at my side. He slung an arm around my shoulder and smiled at me. I did my best to contain myself at the contact.

"How's it going with these balloons, Jellybean? I think you might float away when you go outside with these." His eyes were dancing with humor as he grinned down at me.

"Edward, it is in no way easy to blow up these balloons and tie them when you are standing like that. You are crushing my arm to my side." I elbowed him lightly in the ribs. He groaned and clutched his side in agony. I rolled my eyes and laughed at him.

He glared at me playfully. "I'll get you back for that, you mark my words."

I just laughed at him and he ducked his head to suck some helium out of the tank.

"You said that your dad was coming to visit?" His voice was high and squeaky, and I could hardly take him seriously. I was giggling almost uncontrollably when I answered.

"Y..yes. My best friend said she would stop by too."

"Oh right, because she has it bad for Jasper. She's already been here two times since you started. She should just ask him out. I'm pretty sure he will say yes."

I narrowed my eyes at him and poked him in the ribs. "Do you have inside information, Edward Cullen?"

His eyes became wide and his face was the picture of innocence and shock. He was too good.

"Why, I have no idea why you would think that." I just shook my head and continued to blow up the balloons.

People were streaming in and out slowly, most of them going straight to the counter to eat breakfast, so I didn't really have to seat anyone yet. Every once in a while I would have to seat someone, only to come back to Edward sucking helium out of the tank, or having disappeared with my bag of balloons. He was really being a trouble maker today.

I had finally finished the first bag of balloons, when Sofie appeared with another bag, exclaiming that she "needed people to see the restaurant from the street!" I didn't have the heart to remind her that the building was right on the street anyway. Edward was back now, and we were chatting about the classes he had taken this last semester. He had been hesitant to talk about school when I had first told him I'd dropped out, for lack of a better term, but I assured him that I really didn't mind hearing about it.

The front door opened again and I didn't even have time to look up before Edward grabbed me by the waist and hurled himself onto the floor behind the host stand. I was jolted to the side, but stayed up right, grabbing the tank of helium for balance. I looked around bewildered finally finding him curled up between the cabinet by the host stand and the host stand itself, essentially blocking him from everyone's view, except mine.

"Edward, what the hell…"

"Bella! SHHHHH. Pretend that I am_ not_ down here!" He was whispering frantically.

I stared at him confused for a moment before shrugging and continuing to blow up balloons. A few more people trickled in and sat at the counter.

I finally chanced a glance at him and found him exactly as he was before, except now, his eyes were closed. I abandoned my balloons and knelt down in front of him. I poked his knee.

His eyes shot open in alarm, before settling on me and relaxing.

"Care to explain why you hit the deck?"

He turned and peaked over the top of the cabinets and his whole body visibly relaxed. He turned back to me and smiled sheepishly.

"I thought my ex-girlfriend had walked in. I swear that girl looked just like her. I really did not feel like having her start a fight with me." He smiled and then got to his feet, brushing off his pants.

"Oh," was the only reply I could muster. His hand appeared in front of my face, offering to help me up. I took it, and he pulled me up quickly, nearly flush against his body. I froze, looking up into his face. His lips were right at my eye level, and I became mesmerized by how pink and soft they looked. Then his tongue came out to wet them.

A voice cleared from the direction of the front door, and my eyes snapped away from Edward's lips and I jumped back from him. Alice was standing, with her elbows leaning on the host stand, grinning evilly at me.

"Oh, hi Alice." My voice came out all wistfully and breathy. I inwardly groaned. Alice would surely be cornering me later.

"_Hello_, Bella. I stopped by a bit early. I'm glad that I did." She winked at me.

"I'm still setting set up. You can sit down anywhere, and I will come see you in a minute, okay?"

Her face was still smug and knowing, and I rolled my eyes at her.

"Uh, and I should probably do something productive too, before Sofie kills me. I'll help you tie the balloons outside, Bella." Edward had stepped back another step from me and started towards the cluster of balloons closest to him.

"Sure. I'll be outside in a minute." He smiled again and disappeared outside.

"Well aren't you two adorable." Alice was giddy and attempting to scope out Edward through the glass on the front door. "He's cute, Bella."

I rolled my eyes. "You've seen him before. Or maybe you haven't, you have probably been to busy ogling Jasper to notice. And _we_ aren't adorable. _I'm_ just an idiot." I sighed and shook my head when she started to ask a question. "Listen you can pick on me about this later, but I really need to get these balloons tied outside. Jasper is the section near the south window if you want to sit and hit on him."

Her eyes lit up and she smiled before heading towards Jasper's section. I sighed again and grabbed a bunch of balloons before heading outside. Alice would be begging me for information the moment she got me alone. I groaned. That was going to be fun.

***

Sofie's lunch promotion was a big hit. We were incredibly busy and everyone had a great time with the clown and face painter. My dad had stopped in for a quick bite, but I hardly got a chance to talk to him, it had been so out of control. But he stopped on his way out and told me that he would have dinner ready when I got home. I smiled at him and he disappeared into the sea of people waiting to be sat.

Edward and I didn't say anything about what had happened before by the host stand. I didn't expect him to bring it up. There probably wasn't anything to talk about.

At about 4:30, it finally slowed down enough that I sat down. Edward had gone home at 3 and the last hour and a half had been boring with out him. I was not looking forward to a day when I would have to work with out him. It was bound to happen at some point.

Apparently, Alice had gone shopping after she had lunch, and was now bursting back through the doors, with her sights set on me.

"Finally! You are finished. It's time to talk." She flopped down across from me letting her bags fall to her feet. "Why didn't you tell me you had a thing for that waiter? What's his name?"

I sighed, accepting my fate. "His name is Edward, and before you freak out, there's nothing going on. We are friends, sure, but I highly doubt that he even thinks of me as more, so just don't even go there and depress me." I gave her a pleading look.

She looked at me for a minute, before sighing and nodding. I got my stuff together and we started to leave before she stopped and squealed.

"I forgot to tell you! I can't believe I forgot this! Jasper asked for my number! Ahhh!"

I hugged her and laughed. "Oh my God, Al! That is so exciting! I hope he calls right away!"

She squealed a little. "Oh me too! Oh I can't wait!"

She linked arms with me and we strolled into the parking lot. When we got to my truck, she spoke again.

"I know you don't want to hear it, but you didn't see what I did when I walked in. And let me tell you, he is most definitely interested."

"Alice." I shot her a look.

"Okay, okay. But just think about it. I know when two people are about to kiss and you miss, were about to kiss him…"

"Alice!"

"Fine!"

I glared at her before getting in my car and driving away. I instantly felt bad for yelling at her and storming away. I wasn't mad at her, I was just mad at myself getting my hopes up. I really wasn't in a place in life where I could deal with rejection. I would just have to admire Edward Cullen from a far.

I dialed my cell phone to apologize.

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Please remember to review. I really hate to be one of those people who whines and begs for reviews, but some would be nice. :)


	5. 3 Weeks

**Ok! Chapter 5. This isn't my favorite chapter or my best, but it kinda has to be the way it is. Things will get better from here though. I hope you like it :)**

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3 weeks.

It had been 3 weeks since I had seen Edward. When I'd said I would admire him from a far, I didn't realize that it would be quite this far.

The last time I'd seen him was 3 Fridays ago. It had been a regular Friday dinner. He and I were engaging in our usual flirting, and as usual, Sofie was glaring at us. Edward usually stood at the host stand when he was killing time, not that I minded. We hadn't had another moment quite like the one the day of Sofie's promotion, but I still felt that maybe, just maybe there was something there. But, after our shifts ended that night, he said goodbye to me like he always did, and that was the last time I saw him.

It had been an awful 3 weeks too, especially for the people around me. Alice, I'm sure was ready to kill me. She had gone out with Jasper and every so often she would sigh dreamily, "We're in love". But I was definitely killing her new boyfriend high with my constant complaining and pining over Edward. I had broken down and admitted to her that I was pretty much obsessed with Edward after our "not really almost kiss". And now, every time we were together, I would bring him up, and I would wonder where he went. Today was one of such occasions.

It was now mid-June, and Alice and I were having our now traditional movie and Chinese food marathons.

"I wonder if he thinks of me now. Probably not, he would have at least come back to see me or something. I hope he's ok though. I still can't get over how he just vanished…"

"Bella! I have really had it. I'm very sure that he liked you, but I don't know where he went!" Her chest was heaving a bit at her outburst.

I was staring openly at her, before I was overcome with the feeling to crawl into a hole. I really hadn't shut up about him since I got to her apartment.

"I'm sorry, Alice. How are things with Jasper?" I was trying to make up for my ranting about Edward by bringing up her favorite topic, Jasper.

She looked at me for a minute before she smoothed her short hair down and smiled.

"Things with Jasper are _very_ good. We are going out again on Thursday. He told me he was taking me to Seattle for the day! He won't tell me what we are doing but I'm so excited." She was grinning from ear to ear.

"Has he kissed you yet?"

Her smile became a bit devilish and she nodded. "We've done a bit more than kiss, if I'm being honest. He does this thing with his tongue…"

"All right, Alice." I wasn't really sure I wanted to hear what would have followed.

She giggled and twirled around in a circle. "Don't be such a prude, Bella." I just rolled my eyes at her and laughed.

"You and I both know I am not a prude, Alice. So don't even go there. It's not my fault Jacob was terrible in bed."

She giggled again. "Yes well, what can you expect from a 17 year old who could barely please himself?"

We dissolved into giggles. Making fun of my ex-boyfriend from high school was probably one of our favorite topics.

The door bell rang, and Alice went to retrieve the Chinese food we ordered. A few minutes later, we were settled onto her couch, eating the food right out of the containers. Alice broke the silence.

"You could just ask Emmett where he went you know, if it's bothering you so much."

I stared at her in disbelief.

"What? They are brothers; he would know where Edward disappeared to."

"Alice, I can't just _ask_ Emmett where Edward went. That would be extremely awkward. I don't even talk to Emmett that much. And even if I did ask, what if he ran off and told Edward I was asking about him. I knew Edward for like 2 weeks. I doubt he even remembers my name at this point."

"You need to stop being so damn negative about this. I've seen the two of you working together. I was always half expecting one of you to grab the other and make out on one of the tables in the dining room. Don't give me that 'I'm sure that he was just being nice to me; he never even liked me' crap, because it's getting old. He gave you a nickname, God damn it."

"Well it hardly matters now, does it? He's gone." I snapped at her. I tried not to flush at the memory of the nickname he had for me. She just rolled her eyes.

"I'm not playing along with this any more, Bella. We both know you should have just asked him out, because you missed your chance."

"But I only knew him for 2 weeks! Alice, I couldn't just be like 'Hey let's go out.' I didn't even _know_ him!"

"Bella!" Alice snapped. "Yes you could of! It's called 'dating' for God's sake. You go out with someone _outside_ the work place to get to know each other better. You were just too shy to ask him out. He probably didn't think _you_ liked _him_ enough. I'm serious. If you sit here one more time and talk about how much he didn't like you and how you didn't know him enough, I will seriously lose my mind. It's almost like you don't even want him to like you. "

My mouth was hanging open as she finished her little tirade. I tried to come up with something to say. She was right, I knew that, but I didn't really want to hear it. I was perfectly content wallowing in my own pity about my missed opportunity.

"Fine." I finally got out. I really had nothing else to say. Alice had sufficiently put me in my place.

Later that night, after we had watched a few movies, I headed home with a different outlook. Edward, while being wonderful and handsome, was gone. It was a missed opportunity. We were just two ships passing in the night.

***

The next day at work, Emmett was there. I noticed him sitting at the employee booth. Curiosity got the better of me, so I mustered up the courage and sat down with him.

"Hello there, Bella." He smiled at him. His dimples made him all the more adorable. Apparently charm ran in the Cullen family. I would hate to be in the presence of their father. I would probably melt into the floor.

"Hi Emmett." I smiled shyly at him. We didn't talk often, but he was always very nice to me.

"You are settling in quite well, aren't you? It's like second nature to you now. And everyone seems to like you." He was grinning wide now, like he knew something I didn't.

I took a deep breath. I could just do this. I could be nonchalant.

"Yeah, I really like it here. Emmett, can I ask you a question?"

He leaned forward, his elbows on the table and rested his head in his hands. "Ask away."

_Just do it like a band-aid, Bella. Quick and painless._

"Where did your brother go?"

_Subtle Bella. Really subtle._

Emmett looked at me for a moment before smiling. His smile grew for a moment before he answered.

"He had to take some time off. It's something to do with school. My mom said that he had to go to school for a few days to get something squared away for the fall. I don't know where he's been since then. I haven't seen him. I've been wondering where he's been myself actually." He looked a bit mischievous for a moment before adding, "Why do you ask?"

I was caught a bit off guard by that question. I wracked my brain for an answer, and just sputtered something out, hoping it made sense.

Oh, you know, I mean I only worked with him for a few weeks, but we were friends I guess, and I just noticed that he wasn't around anymore, and I was just wondering where he went. Yeah."

_Did that make any sense? Probably not. _

Apparently it made sense, but Emmett still found it amusing. His face could hardly contain his smile.

"Well, I'll let him know you were wondering where he wandered off to."

I panicked. "Oh, no! No, that won't really be necessary. I was just curious because I hadn't seen him around. There's really no need to _tell_ him that I was asking about him or anything. It's really not a big deal." I was pleading with him with my eyes.

He looked at me for a moment before he put his hands up in defeat. "All right, I won't say anything. I don't know what you are all so worked up about." He smiled and slid out of the booth.

I sank back into the seat and let my head fall back with a thud. Asking Emmett where Edward had gone was a bad idea. Emmett would surely let it slip to Edward that that hostess from Sofie's was asking all about where he went. I groaned. That's exactly how I wanted him to remember me. Over-eager and nosy.

I got home late that night, and Charlie was already in bed. I really missed him. I hadn't really spent much time with him in the last few weeks. Between work, and moping about Edward, I really hadn't seen him. I had talked to him enough, though, in the past few weeks to know that my mother called every Thursday at 8pm to check on my "progress." Apparently she was getting panicky that I would never go back to school, and she was angry with Charlie for letting me get a job, when I should be focusing on what I was going to do about school. He told me he had just hung up on her when she started yelling. I really loved my dad.

***

About a week later, I was working a dinner shift. It was slow and Alice was there visiting Jasper. She was sitting at the counter giggling at him as he smiled and charmed her like he always did. She came in a lot now, so I got to see them making googly eyes at each other often. Sometimes I thought they were so cute. Other times I wanted to throw up.

Rose and Mary were the other servers tonight, so I just stayed up at the host stand, doodling on the seating chart to kill the time. I would usually be talking to Alice, but when I turned to look for her, she seemed to have vanished, along with Jasper. I sighed and returned to my doodling.

A few people, finished with their meal for the night, were heading out the door. I didn't even bother to look up to watch them leave. I didn't notice the next group of people slip in as they left.

Someone appeared in front of the host stand, placing their hands over the seating chart I was doodling on. Just as I was going to look up and be annoyed, a very familiar voice permeated my senses.

"So, I hear you've been missing me, Jellybean"

My head snapped up. Standing in front of me, pulled directly from my dreams, was Edward Cullen.

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**Please remeber to review :) And check out my Livejournal. Sometimes I post teasers or updates on my progress and such. www(dot)ssoft_spoken(dot)livejournal(dot)com**


	6. The Return

**Welcome to Chapter 6! The Return of Edward. **

**Thank you for all of your reviews! they are very encouraging. :D and thank you to my beta geeenah :* **

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"Edward!" I gasped.

His smile was wide as he looked at me and his green eyes were sparkling with happiness. I had never been happier to see anyone in my entire life or more mortified. I wanted to either crawl into a hole, or grab him and kiss him senseless. Or both.

But I did neither. I just stared at him like an idiot, not really sure if he was there or not.

Edward cleared his throat, bringing me out of my daze.

"Bella, this is my mom and dad." He gestured to the two people standing behind him. They were standing a bit back from us, clearly not wanting to interrupt our conversation, or rather my blatant staring.

I smiled and waved awkwardly before quickly grabbing menus and silverware. I made my way to Mary's section, seating them in a booth towards the center of the dining room. Edward's parents sat down, and Edward walked passed me, patting my shoulder and shooting me a smile.

"Thanks, Jellybean."

I nodded dumbly and walked back to the host stand. I turned around, trying to be discreet, and noticed I was standing right in his line of sight. He was looking at me and he smiled. My face flushed and I gave him a nervous smile before whipping back around to face the front doors. I wanted to bang my head against something.

I had been waiting nearly a month to see him again. I had resigned myself that I would probably never see him again, yet here he was. I had never acted so ridiculous in his presence before. I felt like a complete idiot.

I was too busy wallowing in my own shame that I didn't notice Alice was now standing next to me.

"Well, well, well, missy. Look who just walked in the door." Her smile was knowing as she looked at me. She looked down right gleeful. I groaned.

"Alice, I just froze up when he walked in here. I stared like a goldfish and just gasped his name. Ugh, why am I so lame? Why couldn't I have been cute and spectacular? He's probably laughing at how awful I am right now."

"Actually Bella, he's staring in this direction at this very moment."

"Oh my God, Alice, stop_ looking_ at him! He doesn't need to know we are talking about him! Ugh, now I am even lamer. Thank you." I gave up and slammed my forehead down on the host stand. I wanted to be invisible. Alice just giggled and patted my back before floating back to the counter.

We started to get busy, so I really couldn't dwell much on the fact that Edward was right in the middle of the dining room. Well I had time to dwell on it; I just couldn't do anything about it. I could however, feel him watching my every move. I could barely concentrate on seating the sections properly. I almost sat a large party in an empty section before Rosalie snapped at me. I wasn't really bringing my A game tonight.

It was late when it finally slowed down. I hadn't seen Edward and his parents leave, but I was sort of grateful for that since I wasn't forced to stand awkwardly as he grinned at me and made me feel more awkward. It was a vicious cycle, and it was strange for me. Apparently being away from him for a month had made me awkward. I never acted like this around him when he was here, and now suddenly he falls back into my life and I'm like a dead fish when he walks in, my mouth hanging open with a blank stare.

I got out of there late that night. Only Sofie and Rosalie were still there when I left. The parking lot was dark and I had my cell phone out responding to a text from Alice as I walked to my truck.

"It's about time you got out of there, I was afraid I was going to have to wait all night for you out here."

I jumped about a foot in the air and dropped everything I was holding. Edward had lowered my tail gate and was sitting on it.

"_Jesus_." My heart was pounding now for several different reasons. He had scared the shit out of me, but he was here. Waiting for me. In the bed of my truck.

He jumped up, and walked over to pick up my purse and cell phone off the ground before I could even function enough to do it myself.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startle you," he said as he handed me my belongings.

"Why do you keep sneaking up on me?!" I snapped. My heart was still pounding a bit and there was enough adrenaline running through my body that my hands were shaking. He really had to stop having this effect on me. I would never be able to live my life if he kept darting out of the shadows and scaring me every 3 hours.

He laughed lightly as he walked back to my truck and sat down on the tail gate again. He patted it in invitation for me to join him. I stayed where I was.

I could see his face in the light of the street lamp overhead, and I could see that a frown now colored his features.

"I'm really sorry for scaring you. I thought that you had seen me when you walked out. It really wasn't my intention to scare you." He patted the spot next to him again, and this time I complied.

I hopped up next to him, placing my purse behind us in the bed.

We sat in silence for a few minutes. It was a warm night for this area, and a soft breeze was blowing. My hair was blowing, and it was hitting Edward in the face.

"Sorry," I laughed, gathering my hair to the opposite side and twisting it into a knot.

It seemed that he wasn't going to be the first to talk, so I mustered up what little courage I had at this moment and spoke first.

"Where have you been?"

He laughed and looked up towards the sky. "Didn't Emmett already answer that one for you?"

I groaned and he chuckled bumping me with his shoulder.

"I just wondered why you vanished and Emmett said it was because of something to do with school. So I was just asking you for a more in-depth explanation."

He looked at me and smiled. "All right." He leaned back on his hands. "I found out kind of last minute that I had to take a summer class. It was accelerated so I really didn't have time to work. I finished the class yesterday, so I am now home for the summer." He grinned and leaned forward again, resting his elbows on his knees.

"Oh." _Another brilliant response, Bella._

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you, I really didn't have the time. It all happened kind of quickly."

"Oh, it really doesn't matter. It's not like you had an obligation to tell me anything. I just didn't want you to have died or something." I laughed, trying to make my response light-hearted. But his face looked a bit grim as he nodded.

"Hey you two, move along out of my parking lot." Sofie called across the lot.

Edward laughed and called back "Sorry Sofie," and he hopped down from the truck and turned to stand in front of me. He looked like he wanted to say something, but he was hesitating. I pretended not to notice his struggle and moved to get down off the tail gate, but his hands went to my knees, blocking my way down.

"Edward…?"

"I know I've been gone for a bit, but I was wondering if you wanted to go out with me this weekend? I was planning on asking before I left, but like I said, it was very sudden." His eyes found mine and he looked at me expectantly.

My mind was reeling. I was sitting in the parking lot of Sofie's, with Edward Cullen, and he had just asked me out. Was this really happening to me? Edward Cullen, who I was sure, had forgotten about me, and who I thought I would never see again was standing in front of me asking me on a date. I couldn't seem to form words, and he panicked.

"Bella, if you don't want to, I can understand. We haven't really had a chance to get to know each other while I was here and…"

"Yes."

He stopped his sentence short as I finally found the ability to speak.

"Yes? Yes, you will go out with me?" He clarified as he took a step closer to me. His hands were still resting on my knees.

I nodded my head vigorously. I had been waiting for this for over a month.

A very wide smile appeared on his face. "Good. What day are you off?"

"I'm actually off tomorrow. Is that too soon?"

"Oh no, that is just fine. I would love to see you tomorrow. I could pick you up, or you could drive up to my house and we could go from there. It's really up to you, I don't mind either way." He was leaning even closer in his eagerness. I was totally in awe of how quickly things had changed. In the span of 4 hours, Edward had not only returned but he was asking me on a date.

"Um, I guess I could drive to your place. I don't think I'm really ready for you to meet my dad. Being as he has never heard of you before."

He grinned a little devilishly and nodded. "Why don't you come to my house around 4? I can write down directions for you, or you can call me while you are on your way. It's really easy to find from Sofie's."

I nodded. "Okay, I'll just call you then." I turned and dug my cell phone out of my bag and handed it to him. "Just put your number in there." Internally I was freaking out. Now I was getting his number. This day was getting better and better.

He typed it in quickly and handed my phone back. He smiled and leaned forward even more.

"I know that you probably want to kill Emmett for telling me that you were asking where I was, but don't get too mad at him. If he hadn't told me, I probably wouldn't have been very eager to come in here on a day I wasn't working just to see you. I thought you would have forgotten all about me." He smiled softly at me. He was standing almost completely between my legs at this point, and his face was very close to mine. I swallowed loudly. His eyes darted between my lips and my eyes as he leaned a little bit closer. My eyes fluttered.

"Hey! I told you two to get lost. I'm leaving now and I can't leave you here in the parking lot."

I snapped my head back and Sofie was now standing right next to us. Edward looked down, laughing lightly and shaking his head. He took a step back and looked at Sofie.

"All right, all right, we're going."

I hopped down and walked around to the driver's side door. I heard Sofie muttering as she walked to her car. I laughed a little to myself and climbed into the cab of my truck.

"Hey." Edward was standing with his hand on the door preventing me from closing it.

"I will see you tomorrow at 4, right?"

I smiled. "Absolutely. I will see you tomorrow."

"Okay." He nodded and smiled, closing the door for me. I pulled out and headed home.

Once I was a little ways down the road, I squealed to myself in the car. Edward Cullen had asked me out on a date. Edward Cullen had almost kissed me, a second time, in the parking lot. Edward Cullen liked me. I was still in shock.

When I got home, Charlie was asleep in his chair in the living room, with the TV still on. I smiled and walked into the room, switching the TV off. I walked over and placed my hand on Charlie's shoulder, shaking softly.

"Charlie, Charlie, wake up, Dad." He jerked awake, his eyes finally focusing on me.

"You can't sleep in this chair; it's bad for your back." I smiled at him and helped him stand up.

"Bells, you are home late. I was trying to stay awake until you got home. What time is it?"

"It's just after midnight."

"Was it really busy today?

"Yeah, it got busy late. Go off to bed Dad, I will see you in the morning, okay?"

He smiled a little sleepily and nodded, heading up the stairs. I turned off all the lights and head up to bed as well. I got into my pajamas and crawled into bed, though I doubted I would be getting much sleep. I was still reeling that I would be going on a date with Edward in just over 12 hours.

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**:D OH, another _almost_**** kiss... 0:] Well h****e's back and things are getting into full swing!**

**Remember to leave a review! I love to read them!**


	7. Firsts

**Ok, hi. I am so sorry for the delay with this chapter. I was having issues and I really couldn't go on the computer because I was having like horrible headaches but, it doesn't matter now, I'm ok. :)**

**Just a little warning, though I'm not sure anyone would object, but this is where the story is going to start earning its 'M' rating. This is also the first smut I've written, so I'm a little nervous about it. :x**

**I'm talking too much.**

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I woke up late the next morning, not having been able to fall asleep until sometime after 3am. Charlie was already at work, but I knew I would have to stop at the station to let him know that I would be out tonight, not just at work. I also needed to call Alice and let her know that Edward had finally asked me out. This was all so sudden to me; I didn't have enough time to properly inform everyone. I ate a quick breakfast, even though it was closer to lunch time, and took a shower.

I put off calling Alice as long as I possibly could. I didn't want to tell her I was going on a date with Edward with enough time for her to insist on coming over to help me get ready. She wasn't normally too overbearing when it came to that sort of thing, but since this was my first date since I was a sophomore in high school, she would find it necessary to be a part of my outfit picking process. That first date with Jacob all those years ago had been terrifying for me, and Alice had helped me pick my outfit. But this time, I wanted to do it all myself.

After I showered, I took my time and blow dried my hair. I was really trying to kill time, and 4pm was sneaking up on me. I decided to call my dad at the station, rather than stop by on my way to Edward's. I figured it would be less embarrassing for the both of us if I didn't tell him I had a date in person. Around 2:30, I called him.

"Chief Charlie Swan." I almost laughed at how serious he sounded.

"Hi, dad."

"Oh, hey Bells. What do I owe the pleasure of this phone call?" This time I did laugh at his formality.

"Well, father, I was just calling to let you know I was going out tonight."

"All right, that's fine. Are you going out with Alice?"

I hesitated. "Uh, no. I actually kind of have a date."

There was a pregnant pause. "A…a date?"

I really felt bad for Charlie. He never had to deal with me during my high school years when I had a boyfriend. I think he was praying he would never have to deal with it.

"Yes. His name is Edward. I know him from Sofie's."

"What are you doing? What time will you be home?"

"I don't actually know what he has planned, so I don't know what time I would be home; I can't imagine it would be too late. Midnight would probably be the latest."

He sighed. "I'm not going to breathe down your neck about this, but for your old man's sake, be home by midnight, at least this once. I don't really know what I am doing here. I know you are almost 20, but I just don't know what to do." He sounded so defeated.

"Of course, dad. I'll be home by midnight. I doubt Edward would have any problem with that. I will see you when I get home, all right?"

"Yeah, I'll be up. Have a good time tonight, and be careful."

"I will be, don't worry. Have a good day at work, and I'll see you when I get home."

We said our goodbyes and hung up. It was almost 3 at this point and I still needed to get ready and call Alice. I headed upstairs and started to dig through my closet to find something suitable. Edward hadn't told me what we were doing, so I really didn't know the dress code I should follow. I settled for a pair of dark wash jeans and a soft feminine top with a pair of flats. It was cool today so I also added a light cardigan in case we would be outside. I didn't go crazy with makeup, just light and natural. When I was all finished, I decided it was time to bite the bullet and call Alice. Maybe she wouldn't answer.

After 2 rings though, she picked up with a perky "Hello Bella!"

I smiled to myself. "Hey Alice, how are you?"

"I'm good, how are you?"

"I'm all right. I have some news for you."

"Ohhh!" She squealed excitedly, "What _kind_ of news?"

"I have a date with Edward Cullen tonight." I barely finished the sentence before she started celebrating on the other end. I had to hold the phone away from my ear for a moment.

"Oh my God, Bella! What time? Should I come over and help you pick out an outfit? Where are you going on this date?"

I chuckled softly, "Actually, I'm leaving when I get off the phone with you. I'm supposed to be at his cottage at 4. I already picked out my outfit and he didn't tell me what we would be doing. I hope he doesn't take me to the opera or something. I'm wearing jeans."

"Ugh, Bella. You should have called me earlier. I could have planned this all out." She paused. "Hey! You waited to tell me on purpose didn't you! Oh, you are in trouble for this, Bella Swan. I always plan your date outfits!"

I scoffed. "The only other date you planned an outfit for was my first date with Failcob, so don't even act like there were other dates besides that one."

"Ugh fine. But I want details tomorrow, do you understand?"

"Yes, you overbearing little brat."

She giggled. "Have fun! Don't do anything I wouldn't do."

"Of course not. I'll call you tomorrow."

When we hung up, it really was time for me to leave. I grabbed my purse and headed out to the truck. When I was driving past Sofie's a little while later, I pulled out my cell phone and called Edward.

"Hello?"

"Hi, it's Bella." I said timidly.

"Hello Jellybean." I could hear the smile in his voice.

"I just drove past Sofie's. Where am I going now?" He proceeded to give me directions to his parent's house. He stayed on the line with me, very patiently as I navigated his instructions. We hung up when I pulled in, and I nearly got lost finding the turn off for his cottage. When I pulled up, I was struck by how picturesque it was. It was a quaint, single story building, nestled into a small patch of trees. It seemed to suit him though. I took a deep breath and got out.

I slowly made my way to his front door. My heart was pounding out of my chest as I reached up and knocked lightly. As I waited in silence for him to answer, I heard voices on the other side of the door. It opened swiftly to reveal Edward, smiling widely at me, and his mother standing off to the side in what I assumed was his living room.

"Hi," he greeted. "Come on in. My mom just stopped by for a few minutes." He waved in her direction, and I smiled.

"Hello again, Bella. I just stopped in to remind Edward of something." She turned and smiled at him. "Don't forget to ask her, Edward."

He made a sort of half grimace and smiled. "Of course, Mom. I won't forget. I'll talk to you tomorrow, all right?" He still stood in the doorway, urging his mother to leave. She nodded and headed toward the door.

"Goodbye, dear. And I will see you soon, all right Bella?" She smiled at me and I nodded and smiled back.

Edward closed the door and turned to me.

"Sorry about that. She stopped by the moment I hung up with you." He looked a little sheepish. I found it adorable.

"Oh, it's fine. She seems very nice." He smiled and waved me into the kitchen. "What did she mean, 'Don't forget to ask her'?" He turned and looked at me, with his eyebrows raised. I immediately felt nosy. "Oh, I don't mean to pry…"

He just laughed. "Don't worry about it. She _was_ talking about you though."

My eyebrows shot to my hair. "Why was she talking about me? What does she want you to ask me?"

"Relax, Jellybean. She just wanted me to invite you to my birthday party this upcoming weekend." He was standing in front of me now, looking right into my eyes.

"Oh. Of course I'd love to come."

"Good." He grinned and turned around heading for the refrigerator.

"How old are you turning?" I had an idea of how old he was, but I had never asked him outright.

"Twenty-one. Finally. Now I can drink legally." His smile was mischievous, and apparently, I was naïve.

"You drink even though you aren't old enough?"

He nodded, grinning a little. "I _am_ in college, Bella. Emmett usually gets beer and things for me. He usually invites me to his parties too. I'm not out of control though, I only go out sometimes." He shrugged.

"I've never had beer before. Or any type of alcohol," I admitted.

"Really?" He looked amused and intrigued by that. "Well, I had dinner and a movie planned for tonight, but how cliché is that? No, tonight we will order pizza, and you will have a beer."

I balked. "Edward, I don't think that's a very good idea. I have to drive home…"

He chuckled. "Relax. I won't make you drink a whole case. Just one with your pizza. You don't have to drink it if you don't like it, I promise."

He was back in front of me now, his hands resting on my shoulders. I looked at him for a long moment before I nodded. "Just one." I shook my head. "I think you are a bad influence on me," I eyed him playfully.

He grinned, "I kind of hope so."

He turned and grabbed a menu off the top of the fridge. "What kind of pizza do you want?"

"Is pepperoni okay?"

He smiled. "Pepperoni is perfect," and he walked into the living room to order. He returned a moment later and opened the fridge.

"All right, Jellybean. Hop up on the counter there. It's time for your first taste of beer."

I sighed and hoisted myself up and in expanse of counter near the sink. He opened a drawer, popped open the bottle and handed it to me, while coming to stand in front of my legs. I was immediately reminded of last night, when I was sitting on the truck.

"Go ahead, have a taste." My eyes lingered on his mouth while my mind wandered to all the things in this room that I would like to taste. Most of them located on Edward.

"Bella?"

I snapped out of it and brought the bottle to my lips and took a sip. It was awful.

"Yuck. What the hell. This is horrible. Why do you drink this?" I handed it back to him, not wanting to ever taste it again.

He laughed at me like I was the most adorable thing he had ever seen. He took the bottle from me and took a swig of it.

"I guess it's an acquired taste." He set it down next to me and leaned forward, resting his arms on either side of my legs. "It's better with pizza."

My resolve was slipping. It was getting harder and harder to resist the urge to grab him by the hair and wrap my legs around his waist to have my way with him.

I leaned in a bit. "I doubt it. Nothing could make that better." He leaned all the way in now, his eyes looking directly in to mine. "You will just have to try it and see." He pressed his lips to mine softly, tentatively. He pulled back after a moment and we stared at each other before he dove back in, more confidently this time. His lips captured my bottom lip and he sucked softly. His lips were soft and his mouth tasted faintly of beer. I had to admit, it did taste better combined with him. He moved his hands to cup my face now, as my arms wrapped around his back. I turned my head and he moved in to kiss me more deeply, but he quickly slowed the kiss, placing a few soft, swift kisses on my lips before pulling back and resting his forehead against mine.

"I've wanted to do that for a very long time now, I don't think I could have waited another moment."

I pulled him a little closer. "I'm glad you didn't wait anymore."

He lowered his lips again for a slow, soft kiss. The rational part of my brain told me that I shouldn't be making out with Edward in his kitchen on our first date. But at the same time it felt perfect; like I'd known him my whole life, so I kissed him back just as passionately, not wanting to ever really stop. I parted my lips and I heard him groan softly. His tongue moved into my mouth in a slow, shy movement, meeting my tongue gently. I slid my hands up into his hair, gripping tightly as I pulled him closer so he was fully between my legs. His lips left mine and I gasped for air I hardly remembered I needed. His hands slid down from my face to wrap securely around my waist. He pressed a kiss to my cheek before he moved his lips to rest on my neck. I was still panting softly when there was a loud knock on the front door.

Edward pulled away a little reluctantly and pressed a kiss to my forehead before heading to answer to door. I wiped my hand over my face in an attempt to regain composure.

"Bella? Can you grab some plates from the cabinet behind you; we'll eat in here on the couch. Don't forget that beer." I could hear the humor in his voice as he spoke. I gathered the plates and grabbed the beer off the counter and walked into the living room. He was settled in the middle.

His couch was a squishy sectional. There was a type of lounge chair attached to the left side and a recliner on the right, with regular seats in the center. I sat down next to him and handed him a plate. I took a piece from the box and started to eat it. When I looked up, Edward was holding the bottle of beer in front of me with his eyebrows raised. I rolled my eyes and took it, washing down the pizza with a sip.

I shrugged. "It's not as bad as the first time, but I still don't like it." He laughed and took the bottle back from me. We ate and watched TV together, flipping through the channels, trying to find something to watch. We settled on some TV Movie for a little while, and just talked. At around 8, he asked if I wanted to watch a DVD. I agreed and told him to pick any movie he wanted while I cleaned the pizza box and plates up. We seemed to be settling into a routine right away. I smiled to myself at that thought. I removed my sweater and placed it on the counter, now that we were staying in the house for the night.

When I came back into the living room, Edward was now settled comfortably on the lounge side of the couch. I walked around the couch, and stopped, unsure of where I should sit now. He noticed my dilemma and smiled, opening his legs up a bit and gesturing for me to sit between them. I crawled awkwardly and situated myself between his legs, my back against his chest and his arms resting on his own legs, but close enough to my body that I almost felt like he was holding me.

The movie he had picked was _Hitch_. I was extremely pleased at his choice; _Hitch_ had always been one of my favorites

"It's one of mine too." He stated softly near my ear He stated softly near my ear after I had whispered to him how much I loved this movie.

"The ending is a little silly though. With her brother-in-law pretending to date her to make Hitch jealous. And then he runs him over." I chuckled.

"I like the ending." He stated softly as his arms slid around me now. "He gets the girl in the end." I nodded in agreement and leaned back more securely against his chest.

As we watched, he began to kiss the side of my neck. I turned my head a little, giving him more access. He kissed in firm open mouthed kisses along the column of my neck. His hands began to move upward across my torso, and I moved my hands to rest on his legs.

"Are you all right?" He whispered.

"Yes." I breathed, shifting against his chest. I turned my head a bit and his mouth found mine immediately. His kisses were insistent but gentle. His hand slipped down under my shirt while I noticed his other hand reached for the remote to turn the movie off, all the while his lips were still moving against mine. His fingers danced over the skin of my stomach and then moved down to rest on the waistband of my jeans. I knew what he was asking, and I was quick to agree. To hell with moving too fast on a first date.

"Touch me," I breathed against his lips. I've never wanted anything more.

"Are you sure, Bella?"

"Please."

He quickly unfastened the button on my jeans and slid his hand down gently. I slid my legs up, bending them at the knee, and his hand slid past the waistband of my panties and down, before drawing his index finger up and circling my clit. I broke away from his lips and rested my head against his chest, panting softly.

"You are so wet, Bella." He groaned into my neck, and my panting increased at his words.

His fingers found a rhythm, circling my clit a few times before dipping down to enter me slightly then coming back up and starting over again. It was slow, delicious torture. After a few minutes, he started to focus on my clit alone. My fingers began to clench and grip the jeans covering his thighs. The build up was getting unbearable. My stomach began to clench and my breath was coming in quick gasps. Edward started to press his lips against my neck quickly, periodically sucking on a spot. Finally, it was beginning to be too much.

"Edward…Edwa…" I came, crying out softly, arching my back and closing my eyes. His fingers slowed, but still continued to rub gently until I came down. He kissed my neck softly and slowly withdrew his fingers. He reached for a box of tissues on the coffee table and cleaned off his hand before he covered my hands with his. He slowly massaged them and I finally loosened my grip on his legs. He wrapped his arms around me and I shifted in his lap so that I was facing him. I nestled my face into his neck.

He pressed his lips into my ear and whispered softly, "You are so wonderful, Bella." He pulled me tightly to his chest like he never wanted to let me go.

I hoped that he wouldn't.

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**So I hope that you liked it! lol and I'm sorry to Jacob fans. I like him, but for the sake of this story, not many people are a fan of him. **

**Please remember to review, and I will see you next chapter, which will take much less time than this one did.**


	8. Birthday Kisses

**Hi! Welcome to Chapter 8. This chapter was supposed to be Edward's birthday party, but once I started writing, this chapter just kind of happened. I hope you think it's as cute as I do :')**

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I left Edward's a little while after our…ahem, activities on the couch. I had tried to do the right thing and reciprocate, but Edward wouldn't have it.

"Bella, not tonight. I've already pushed this much too far for a first date. I'm not that kind of guy." I tried protesting, but it fell on deaf ears.

He was almost too perfect. I was trying to find something, anything, to make him seem human. There wasn't anything. He really was that much of a gentleman; I hardly knew what do with myself.

We spent the rest of the time I was there talking and kissing. He never really pushed anything after he touched me that first time. Our kissing was slow and gentle, softly learning the other. His hands rarely strayed from my waist, unless he was sliding his hands up to cup my face. His lips however strayed all over my neck and face. I really hoped I didn't have any noticeable marks when I got home.

He walked me out to my truck when it was time for me to leave. He kissed me some more when we got there, pressing my back against the drivers side door.

"I never want to stop kissing you." He breathed against my lips. I looked up at him and smiled, pressing my lips softly to his for one last kiss.

"What time should I be here on Saturday?" His actual birthday was this upcoming Thursday, he had informed me earlier.

He stepped back and thought for a minute, trying to recall what his mother had told him.

"I think my mom said four. You can just pull up to the main house. We are having the party up there, and bring your bathing suit," he smiled a little at me. "If it's nice out, we will all go swimming!"

"Do you want me to bring you beer or something?" He laughed.

"No, no. You can't buy it anyway, silly girl. You don't have to bring me anything. Just bring yourself and a bathing suit, and I will be that happiest birthday boy ever." He grinned a little impishly at me, and I knew that I would never be able to tell him no if he smiled at me like that.

A few more kisses later, I finally left Edward's and made my way home. I wasn't going to make it by midnight, and I blamed Edward and his lips.

When I got home, Charlie was waiting for me, just like I figured he would. He was sitting in the living room watching the end of a movie. I walked in at 12:07.

"Hi dad." I walked into the living room and sat down on the couch.

"Hi. How did your date go?" He looked a little uncomfortable asking, but he knew he had to.

"It was really good. We had pizza and watched movies. He's really great."

"Are you going to see him again?" I'm sure part of him was wishing I was going to say no.

"His birthday is this weekend, and his mother invited me to their house for a party for him."

"You've met his mother?" He sounded surprised.

"Um, yeah. She was at his house when I got there."

"I think I'd like to meet him."

This shocked me. I really didn't expect Charlie to want to meet him so soon. I'm not sure I _wanted_ Charlie to meet him so soon.

"Oh. I guess I could ask him to pick me up and take me to the party Saturday, that way you can meet him."

"That would be good."

I nodded and decided that I should go to bed. I really didn't need Charlie interrogating me anymore. At least not right now.

"Okay, good night, Dad. I will see you tomorrow,"

"Night Bells."

I went upstairs and got ready for bed. As I laid there waiting for sleep to come, I couldn't stop thinking about my night with Edward. It had been an unconventional date; poor Charlie would have a heart attack if he knew what really happened tonight, but it had been perfect. Being with Edward had just _felt_ right. There had been no awkwardness in our movements, and I was thankful for that. I couldn't wait until Saturday when I would see him again. I smiled and rolled over and let sleep finally come.

***

The next morning after Charlie left, I called Alice, as promised. She listened like the good friend she was, squealing and giggling in all the right places. I was trying to avoid telling her about what happened on the couch last night; I wasn't as big on sharing sexual encounters as Alice was. But, like always, she knew I was hiding something.

"So did anything else happen? You just sat and watched movies?" Her tone was skeptical.

"Yeah, pretty much." I was never good at lying, but I hoped that it would be less obvious over the phone.

"Pretty much? You are hiding something."

Shit. Apparently not.

"Alice, please. I don't have to tell you everything. Sure, other things happened. I'm not going into detail."

"Fine." I knew it wasn't fine, but I had put her in her place and she knew better than to push.

We talked for a little while, but I could tell she wanted to know. I rarely said no to her, so I gave in, against my better judgment.

"You really want to know what happened last night?" I sighed.

"Yes, please." She was doing her best 'I will love you forever if you tell me this' voice.

"Okay." I took a deep breath, not sure if I would be able to actually vocalize this. I may not be a prude, but talking about it to people still made me nervous. "We made out most of the time. I was there for like 15 minutes before he kissed me. It was pretty amazing. We were watching a movie and things just kind of got touchy-feely, I guess you could say. He…um. He fingered me?" It came out more like a question and I wanted to crawl in a hole.

"Oh, Bella! How exciting! Was it good?"

I groaned. "Yes, Alice, it was good."

"Did you do anything for him in return? Don't be greedy now."

"He wouldn't let me."

"He…what?"

"He told me that he didn't want to push things too far on our first date. He didn't want to take advantage of me."

"Oh, well that was very sweet of him. What a gentleman you have, Bella." She sounded happy for me. I smiled; I felt happy for me too.

"Don't get ahead of yourself, Alice. I don't really have him yet."

"Oh, shush. You have him wrapped around your little finger I'm sure. And once you give him a little taste of his own 'touchy-feely' medicine, as you put it, he won't ever let you go."

"I'm just worried about that part," I confessed. "I'm…out of practice, I guess you could say."

"Oh, don't worry about it, Bella. Just talk to him about it. I'm sure you are going to have that kind of discussion eventually. I'm sure he will understand."

I nodded to myself. I didn't really have anything to be nervous about. What I should be nervous about was meeting his entire family on Saturday.

***

The week passed incredibly slowly. I called Edward on Tuesday to talk to him about meeting my dad on Saturday. He had agreed, sounding slightly nervous, but a little eager to meet my dad too. He told me he would be at my house around 3:30. I was nervous for what my dad would do when Edward showed up. Maybe I would hide his gun so he wouldn't be able to brandish it to intimidate Edward.

I worked pretty much every day that week. I wanted to maybe surprise Edward on Thursday and go see him on his birthday, but I never got the chance to because I ended up having to work a double. I called him during my break just to wish him a happy birthday, but I felt like I should have done more. I was in a bad mood for the rest of the day. What really annoyed me was that Sofie's was pretty dead that night. They didn't even need me, but of course with my luck, I had to be there.

At around 6:30, I was at the peak of my bad mood. I was sitting down in the front of the restaurant in one of the booths. Sofie didn't even say anything to me about it; she most likely knew better than to yell at me. I was just staring at the table when the front door opened. I sighed and got up and walked towards to host stand to get menus.

"Why do you look so upset, Jellybean?"

My head snapped up and Edward was standing there looking concerned. How did he always know how to show up and make me feel better?

I just stared at him for a moment before walking over hugging him. He put his arms around me tightly and I could feel his lips on the top of my head.

"What's wrong?" He whispered into my hair.

I just shook my head and looked up at him. "Happy birthday."

He smiled and kissed my cheek softly. "Thank you," he whispered before taking a step back.

"What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be out getting drunk with Emmett?" I was smiling now, my bad mood forgotten.

He smiled softly, "Later. It's a little early to go out and get smashed. I came by because you sounded really upset on the phone before."

"Oh." He had come all the way here to see if I was all right? On his birthday? He _really_ needed to stop being so wonderful, I didn't think I could handle it anymore. "I was just feeling shitty because I had to be here on your birthday. And look, it's not even busy or anything, they don't even need me," I groused.

He smiled widely for a moment. "Stay here, I'll be right back," and he disappeared into the back. I stood there, dumbfounded for a moment before I just shrugged my shoulders and went to lean on the host stand.

A few minutes later he returned, looking triumphant.

"Bella, would you like to join me for dinner?"

I stared stupidly at him for a moment before I managed to ask, "_Now_?"

"Well, you said that they didn't need you, and it seems that with a bit of persuasion, Sofie agrees. So, we will be dining here, on the house." He truly looked gleeful at being about to swindle Sofie into this.

"Sure, that would be great." I was smiling just as widely now. He was really something else.

We sat near the front so I could keep an eye on the door if we got busy. Mary was our server and we ordered quickly so we could sit and talk.

"This is the date I should have taken you out to on Sunday." He looked a little sheepish.

I shot him a look. He was clearly still feeling guilty about the way our date had turned out.

"Did you see me complaining? Am I complaining now? It was perfect, Edward, even if you feel it was unconventional. I wouldn't want it to have gone any other way."

He looked at me for a moment before nodding. "I just have never done that on a first date. I didn't want you to feel like I was planning that from the beginning, it just sort of…happened."

I smiled. "I understand _that_ better than you might think."

Our food came and we ate, talking quietly. He was meeting Emmett in a little while to go to some club here in Port Angeles. Apparently Emmett wasn't planning on drinking, just getting Edward as drunk as possible.

"I'm probably going to wake up tomorrow morning on my front lawn and not remember anything that happened to me. That will be fun." He rolled his eyes a bit and I giggled.

"I would have been completely okay with just having a party at my house tonight, but Emmett insisted that I go out and buy alcohol because I could now. Let's hope they don't draw on me or something when I pass out."

"Well, can you just call me tomorrow when you feel up to it, so I know that you aren't dead or in jail or something?"

He laughed. "Of course, but don't expect a call until late afternoon. If I know my brother, we won't get home 'til the sun is coming up." I nodded and smiled at him.

When we finished eating, Edward thought that he should probably get going. He had to meet Emmett in a little while, and he wanted to run home to take a shower. I walked with him to the front door and stopped, expecting him to as well. He just kept walking for a moment before he turned around and looked at me funny.

"What?" I asked, confused.

"Oh, well I wanted to say good-bye _properly_, and I don't think you would appreciate me doing that in here, where people could see us." He winked at me.

"Oh." God, I felt stupid sometimes in his presence. So I followed him outside the front door. I was looking around in the parking lot to see if there was anyone on their way in. There wasn't anyone, but Edward didn't seem to be taking the same discretion I was. He grabbed my face and pressed me slightly into the side of the building.

His lips met mine soft, but insistent. I tilted my head a little to the left and he took the opportunity to deepen the kiss. His tongue came out and touched my lower lip, and I responded immediately, opening my mouth so his tongue could meet mine. I let him plunder my mouth how ever he pleased. I just kept pulling him closer to me, gripping the back of his shirt tightly, in an effort to hold myself to something. I finally had to break away a few moments later when the need to breathe overwhelmed me.

He rested his forehead against mine, with his eyes closed and tried to catch his breath.

"Happy birthday," I whispered. He opened his eyes and smiled before leaning into to kiss me once more.

"Thank you," He whispered as he pulled back, his hands resting on my hips.

"Have fun tonight with Emmett and thank you for dinner."

He smiled "Oh you are very welcome. I will see you on Saturday, all right?"

I nodded and he kissed me one more time, this time lingering for a moment before pulling away completely.

"Yeah, Saturday; get ready to meet my dad."

He chuckled as he walked to his car. "Have a good rest of the night, Bella." He called. I smiled and waved at him before turning and walking back into the restaurant.

Somehow, I knew I could work the rest of the night in a better mood now.

* * *

**Chapter 9 probably won't be out until next week sometime, I'm going to be out of town next weekend. **

**Remember to review :') I have a little sneak peak for later in the story if you do! **


	9. The Party

**Hello again! Sorry for the long wait, I've been trying to write this chapter for about a week now. This really should be 2 chapters, but I just kind of got rolling and now this is just under 7,000 words! Some of it isn't my best writing, but I do really love this chapter. **

**Enjoy! **

* * *

The morning of Edward's birthday dawned sunny and a bit humid; a perfect day for swimming. I was happy that I would finally be able to go swimming again; it had been far too long for me. I had always loved it as a child, but I hadn't really had time for it in recent years because of school. I was never really good at being competitive, but I still loved the feel of the water around me.

I got up and had breakfast. Charlie was working a half day today so that he would be home when Edward came to pick me up. I had 5 hours until then, and I was struggling to find things to pass the time.

I lounged around the house for a while, watching cartoons and reading a magazine. At around 2, I finally gave up and took a shower. I took my time, and when I got out, I decided to blow dry my hair. I knew it was probably pointless because of the humidity and the fact that I would be in a pool later, but I needed something to do.

After my hair was dry, it was finally almost 3. I went to my room and picked out a simple tank top and shorts with my bathing suit underneath. Having to change into it at Edward's house would be a hassle. Once I was dressed, I dragged out a small beach bag from my closet so I could bring a change of clothes with me to the party. I really wasn't looking forward to being stuck in a wet bathing suit for the rest of the night.

As I was making my way downstairs, the front door opened and Charlie came in.

"Hey dad," I greeted when I reached the bottom of the stairs.

"Hi. You look nice." He smiled.

I rolled my eyes a bit, but responded with a mumbled "thank you."

"What time is Edward getting here again?"

"Dad, I told you twelve times. He will be here at 3:30. So that gives you," I glanced at the clock in the kitchen, "twenty-eight minutes to come up with a plan to intimidate him somehow."

He rolled his eyes. "I'm not going to intimidate anyone. I just want to meet this kid who is going to be taking my daughter out. Is that too much to ask?" He looked at me in an almost pleading way. I really was being a bit rough on him about this. He would never actually go out of his way to embarrass me or intimidate Edward.

I walked to him and hugged him quickly.

"No, it's not. I appreciate your concern. With mom, she didn't care and she hated that I had a boyfriend in high school."

He nodded and went into the living room and sat down. I got my bag and my purse and set them at the foot of the stairs and joined Charlie. I had some time to kill, and to be honest, I was feeling a bit antsy.

After watching some sports show and biting off all of my nails, it was finally 3:30. In past experience with Edward, I knew that he was rarely on time for things. He was never on time for work and always used some charming excuse to get out of Sofie's wrath, so I really wasn't expecting him to be there at 3:30.

But, promptly at 3:32, there was a knock on the front door. I jumped up quickly and rushed to answer it. I stopped, took a steadying breath and opened the door.

Edward was standing, looking down a bit, with his hands in his pockets. He was wearing a loose t-shirt and a pair of plaid shorts. He looked adorable.

When he heard the door open, his eyes lifted to look at me. A grin broke out on his face when his eyes met mine.

"Hi." I tried not to sound breathless, but it really didn't work.

"Hello," he greeted. I had to restrain myself from grabbing him and kissing him. I doubted my father would like that very much.

"Uh, come in, my dad is right in the living room…"

"I'm right here, no need to come all the way into the house. I only want to say hello."

Charlie was standing in the door way of the living room, leaning against the door frame. Edward stepped into the foyer and I walked to the stairs to grab my bag.

"Hi, Edward." Charlie took a step forward to shake Edward's hand. "So this is your 21st birthday party today?"

"Yes sir, Chief Swan." I almost giggled at how formal he was being in an effort to make a good first impression with my dad.

"I assume that you will be drinking?" Charlie didn't sound accusatory; he just seemed to be attempting to get the facts straight. Edward looked a bit worried at the question and tried to answer it the way he thought Charlie wanted to hear it.

"Yes. My parents are going to be there as well. I won't let Bella drink, I know she is underage."

Charlie just waved his hand. "I'm not worried about that. Bella is responsible and I know that she will make the right choices. I was just concerned about how Bella would be getting home. It's your 21st birthday party, you should enjoy yourself."

"Oh, well I could just follow him in my truck, Dad, it's not a big deal."

But Charlie waved his hand again.

"Don't worry. I was just going to suggest that you stay at the Cullen's tonight. Alice will be there, right?"

I stared. He was suggesting that I _stay at the Cullen's_. With the boy that I was seeing. Overnight. Who was this man? He sure as hell wasn't my father.

"You really want me to stay at Edward's?"

Edward seemed to be just as surprised as I was because he was staring a bit open mouthed at my father.

"Well, I don't want you to have to worry about driving home so late, and I don't want him to not enjoy his 21st birthday party just because I made him pick you up so I could meet him."

I stared for another moment before I just went with it. If I stood there questioning him, he might change his mind.

"Thank you, really, Dad. I'll just run upstairs to grab some clothes to sleep in," I said then I dashed up the stairs.

Two minutes later, I had a pair of pajama shorts, a tank top, my toothbrush and a tube of toothpaste in my hand as I hurried back down the stairs. I didn't want to leave Edward stranded with my dad for too long. As I came down, I saw Edward leaning casually against the wall near the front door. Charlie was sitting back down in the living room, watching TV. I shoved my stuff into the bag I had and looked up to smile at Edward. He smiled back.

"Ready to go?"

I nodded and turned into the living room to say good-bye to Charlie. I walked up to him and kissed his cheek. He looked up at me, a little startled.

"_Thank _you." I said it with as much gratitude as I could. I knew that he probably struggled with letting me do this, but he didn't want to hold me back.

He just nodded at me a bit awkwardly. "I will see you tomorrow when I get home, all right?"

He nodded again. "Have a nice time, Bells."

I smiled and squeezed his shoulder before turning and rejoining Edward in the foyer.

"Ok, I'm ready."

* * *

Half an hour later, we were pulling up to Edward's. I figured he would pull up to the main house, but he turned toward his cottage instead.

"Isn't the party up there?" I asked, a bit confused.

He chuckled. "Yes, but I thought you might want to drop your stuff off down here. There's going to be a lot of bags at the house, I don't want yours to get misplaced."

"Oh, thank you." I beamed at him. He was too good to me.

I got out and followed him to the door. When I reached him, he slid his hands over my shoulders and leaned down to kiss me. His lips were soft and gentle and simply moved across mine, not seeking anything but the contact of my lips against his. He pulled back and pressed his lips to my forehead.

"I wanted to do that at your house, but I didn't think Chief Swan would have liked that very much."

I giggled and kissed him again.

"I think that he liked you though. Or else I doubt he would have offered for me to stay here tonight."

He grinned and plucked my over night bag out of my hands. He opened his front door and placed the bag inside before closing it again. He held his hand out for me and I took it.

"I want to talk to you about something later, okay?"

I wondered what he would want to tell me, but I nodded.

We walked up the sloping lawn towards the Cullen's main house. It was gigantic. I was a little awestruck at finally seeing it up close. Edward saw my reaction and just chuckled.

We made our way to the back of the house, where most of the party-goers had congregated. Everyone seemed to notice us at once and started to cheer greetings at Edward. He smiled widely and waved.

We reached the patio where Alice, Jasper, and Emmett were standing.

"There's the birthday boy!" boomed Emmett. "And Bella too!" He grinned widely at me before coming over and hugging me tightly. I froze, unsure of what to do.

He finally let me go, and I knew I was probably blushing.

"Hi, Emmett," I mumbled. He just laughed and handed Edward a beer off of a nearby table. "Would you like one too, Bella?"

"Bella doesn't like beer," Edward responded for me, shooting me a smirk. I just rolled my eyes at him.

"How…what have I missed?" demanded Alice. "Bella, you've never had beer."

I smiled a little shyly. "Last weekend, Edward made me try some because I told him I'd never had any alcohol before. It was awful." I made a face at the memory.

Emmett snorted and Edward was chuckling as he draped his arm over my shoulders.

"Like I said, it takes an acquired taste."

He moved back a few steps to lean on the railing of the deck. He pulled me with him and positioned me between his legs with his arm wrapped gently around my waist.

"Alice, my dad is letting me stay here tonight."

"What?! He's letting you sleep over? How did _that _happen?"

I shrugged. "I have no idea. He was talking to Edward and then he was like 'You should just stay at the Cullen's.' I just stared at him for awhile before it sunk in. I couldn't believe it."

"I thought I was hallucinating, to be honest," chuckled Edward. I laughed a little with him and he squeezed my hip.

"This is awesome, Bella! I was planning on staying because Jasper was. It will be a sleepover!" She was bouncing slightly. I just rolled my eyes at her and smiled.

"Do you want to go swimming?" Edward whispered in my ear and I turned to look at him. He took a sip of his beer, raising his eyebrows at me.

"Sure. I forgot a towel though."

"I'm sure there are more than enough down by the pool. My mother loves towels."

I looked over at Alice, but she was completely wrapped up in Jasper now, and I'm sure she would be for a while. Emmett had disappeared too, but I figured that Rosalie was here somewhere or he was looking for more booze.

Edward took my hand and we trailed back down the lawn to the pool. There were only a few people around the pool, for which I was grateful. I didn't need the whole party watching me swim with Edward.

"I'll go grab some towels from the cabinet in the pool house." I nodded and he walked off. I quickly slipped out of my tank top and shorts, laying them on a chair at the side of the pool. I tested the water and it was warm. They probably had a heater since it hadn't been warm enough this summer for the pool to be as warm as it was.

I walked to the deep end of the pool and decided to try something I hadn't done in a while: swim the whole length of the pool in one breath. I used to do it all the time when I swam more in Arizona, and I had gotten quite good at it. But I highly doubted I would be able to do it today since I was out of practice.

I took a few deep breaths in an effort to stretch my lungs and calm my breathing down. I closed my eyes and took one final deep breath before I dove in.

The water felt refreshing against my skin as I broke through. The temperature didn't feel like bath water like most pools with heaters did. I dolphin kicked for as long as I could before I lost my momentum, and then I started to swim with all my might to make it to the other side. I guessed I was about halfway before my lungs began to burn. It wasn't too bad though and I kept going. I tried not to think about my lungs and pressed on, releasing some of the air to relieve the pressure. Finally, I saw the wall of the shallow end and I rejoiced in my head, I was going to make it. The burning was becoming unbearable and my hand slapped the wall and I broke the surface, gasping.

"Oh my God, Bella! I saw you dive in and you didn't come up!" Edward was now splashing down the stairs into the pool. He reached me and gripped my arms tightly. "Are you all right?" He looked very concerned.

I was still catching my breath but nodded. "I'm sorry…I scared you," I panted. "I should have warned you I was going to do that." I took a deep breath. "I always used to do that when I went swimming, so I wanted to try it today. I didn't expect to make it."

He was still giving me a look of concern and disapproval but he nodded. "I was terrified that you drowned or something." He pulled me a little closer and pressed a kiss to the top of my head. When he pulled back, I smiled at him.

"I'm safe and sound. No worries."

Edward had apparently just realized that I was in a bathing suit. I doubt he heard what I had just said to him because he was staring a little dreamy eyed at me. We were at the shallow end of the pool, so the water reached to about my thighs. I was on full display.

"See something you like?" I goaded.

"Yes." He responded breathily. I rolled my eyes and giggled before shoving him backwards so he fell into the water.

"Hey!" He sputtered as he came back up. I laughed gleefully and attempted to swim away from him. But he was much larger and faster than me and caught me easily.

"Oh no you don't." He gripped me tightly and dragged me a little deeper into the pool. He waded to the wall and leaned back against it, moving me into his lap. His hands skimmed lightly against my bare legs.

"Are you having a nice time?"

I smiled. "So far, yes. It's really gorgeous here. There is so much property."

He nodded and tugged me a little closer, locking his hands behind my back.

"I loved playing hide and seek with Emmett out here when I was little. I was smaller than him, so I always found the best hiding places." His smile was a lot like a little boy's as he revealed this.

I slid my arms around his shoulders. "What did you want to talk about?"

His hand came and cupped my face and he kissed me gently. "Later. When everyone is gone and we go back down to the cottage."

"But I thought we were sleeping in the house."

He grinned a little roguishly and slid his hand down to cup my thigh. "Well we need to go down to the cottage for your change of clothes; you did leave your bag down there, after all."

"Sneaky bastard," I stated, but giggled at him. He smiled and leaned in to kiss me again. His hand on my thigh began to knead the skin there and his hand that was on my back began to slide up my spine. My lips parted and his tongue slipped in teasingly. I smiled and pulled him closer.

"All right kids! Enough making out!" called Emmett as he jumped in to cannonball right in front of us.

Edward groaned as water splashed over both of us.

"This is why we are going down to the cottage to talk later," he murmured in my ear.

We swam for a bit before I started to get hungry.

"There's stuff up on the grill," Edward offered as my stomach growled loud enough to hear above the water.

"That sounds lovely."

"Okay, let's grab some towels. You get to meet _my_ dad now." He smiled that smile that made me all warm and fluttery.

I climbed out and he was already holding a towel open for me. I walked over and he wrapped it around my back tightly before tugging me forward. He cupped my face in both of his hands and kissed my gently.

"Thank you for coming."

I smiled softly. "You are most welcome."

He dried off quickly before slinging his arm over my shoulder and leading me to the grill side of the deck. Edward's father was there, talking to a few people who I presumed were either work associates of his or relatives.

"Hi Dad. What do you have that's ready to eat?"

Edward's father turned around and smiled at me before answering Edward's question.

"Well there's some chicken that is already cooked and there are hot dogs which only take a few minutes to cook. If you want a hamburger, those will take a little while longer."

Edward looked at me for my response.

"Oh, um, the chicken will be fine."

He nodded. "And just throw a couple of hot dogs on for me."

"All right. Edward are you going to introduce me to this lovely young woman, or not?"

"Oh right. Woops. Dad, this is Bella, Bella this is my father, Carlisle."

I smiled warmly at him and offered my hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Dr. Cullen."

He took my hand and waved his other one at me. "Please, call me Carlisle. I'm only Dr. Cullen at the hospital. It is a pleasure to meet you as well. Edward has said so many wonderful things about you; it's lovely to finally meet you properly."

"Thank you."

He handed me a plate with grilled chicken and some grilled vegetables and handed Edward a plate with two hot dogs.

"Enjoy. Don't wander off Edward, your mother wants to bring the cake out soon."

Edward groaned and Carlisle chuckled before he shooed us towards a table.

We sat and ate for a bit before the rest of the gang came to join us. Rosalie was with them this time, but didn't really talk to us. She really only paid attention to Emmett.

Sure enough, about 10 minutes later, Carlisle's voice rang through the backyard.

"All right everyone! If you would direct your attention to the back door, and the table right-" he walked over to where we were sitting, "here. It's time to sing happy birthday to my son."

Edward had an embarrassed smile as Esme brought the cake outside. She was making her way to the table so I started to get up to move out of the way, but Edward grabbed me around the waist and pulled me to sit between his legs. He pressed his face into my shoulder in an attempt to hide.

"Ah ah ah, Edward. Head up! We are all going to sing to you!" Carlisle was beaming and shot me a wink. I giggled.

Emmett started the chorus of "Happy Birthday" loudly and rambunctiously. Carlisle looked to be struggling to remain composed as Emmett raised his arms to conduct the crowd of people that gathered. Edward's face was a little red as he watched Emmett waving his arms around.

When they finally finished, Edward whispered to me, "Help me blow the candles out," so we both leaned in to quickly extinguish them. I was faintly aware of flashes going off around us. When I looked up, I saw Esme standing in front of us with her camera. She smiled softly at me and turned the camera around for us to see.

In the screen, I saw myself, nestled between Edward's legs on the bench of the picnic table. His arms were around me, my back almost to his chest, with his head next to mine. Our faces were all lit up by the candles below us. Except, Edward wasn't blowing out the candles, I was blowing them out. He was simply looking at me, watching me blow out _his_ birthday candles.

"You let me blow out your candles."

He just shrugged. "I didn't need to wish for anything."

I just stared at him as Esme began slicing the cake and handing it out. He just squeezed me closer and began to eat his cake.

* * *

It was around 10 now, and most of the guests had left. Edward opened a few presents and then we went down to a deserted part of the lawn and played with a set of lawn darts that Emmett had found in the garage. Playing with him was dangerous, he tried to actually aim for people.

Edward and I had curled up on one of the large Adirondack chairs on the back porch. He had given me one of his t-shirts to wear over my bathing suit, and we had one of the towels draped over our legs. He was nursing a beer, resting it on the arm of the chair, while his other hand played with my hair. We had been sitting in comfortable silence for a little while as he drank his beer and I watched the stars.

He took the last sip from the bottle and rested it down on the floor of the deck.

"Do you want to head down and get changed? I think Alice is planning a movie marathon or something in a little while. I think my mom is helping her." He seemed amused at the prospect of Alice and Esme putting together a movie night for us.

I suddenly got a little nervous, remembering that he wanted to talk once we were in his house.

"Sure. I'm getting a little cold anyway."

"Why didn't you tell me?" He rubbed his hand up and down my arm.

I shrugged. "I didn't really want to move."

He smiled at me and grabbed my hand. "Come on."

We made our way down the hill, with Edward helping me navigate in the dark. We reached the cottage and he lead me inside, grabbing my over night bag and walking down the hall, without turning any lights on. I figured he was going to show me the bathroom, but he tugged me into his bedroom instead.

"You can change now if you want to, and we can talk after that. The bathroom is right across the hall."

I shook my head. "No, I can change in a little bit, I'm ok for now."

He nodded and sat down on the edge of his bed. I sat next to him and looked around while he was collecting his thoughts. It was a decent sized room, not too much clutter andwith a definite air of masculinity. It smelled like him too.

He sighed and laid back on the bed scooted towards the pillows. I joined him, nestling into his chest. He placed his hand on the back of my head and tilted it to look at him. He looked a bit pained.

"Edward, what's wrong?" I reached to smooth the lines on his forehead.

He sighed again. "I don't know how to do this. Being with you is…difficult for me."

I froze. What did that mean?

He sensed my distress and pulled me closer to him. "That doesn't mean what it sounds like."

I relaxed but waited for him to elaborate.

"When I met you, I wasn't looking for a relationship. I didn't _want_ anyone. I was just at a place where I was content with just me, because I was tired of being hurt by people." He closed his eyes and seemed to debate with himself. Then he chuckled darkly. "This really isn't exactly what I wanted to talk about, but I guess it's necessary."

I snuggled a little closer and rested my head on his shoulder.

"I started dating this girl a few weeks after I started at Dartmouth. She was amazing, smart, funny, everything. After a short period of time, I really saw myself with her for the long haul. She was the first real girlfriend I ever had. I honestly thought she would be the last. I was with her for about 6 months before we started sleeping together, and that's when things started to change between us. Around the beginning of March the next year, she told me she was pregnant."

I tried not to react, I really did. I snapped my head back to look at him, but he just shook his head at me.

"I was 18 and I freaked out. I didn't know what to do. I wanted to be there for her, to be responsible for my actions. I called my dad and he was really supportive of me. He made me man up and do the right thing. A few weeks later though, she got really sick and she miscarried the baby. I was devastated. I didn't realize how much I wanted this baby until she told me she lost it. I had never really had a chance to go with her to any of her appointments because of school. I felt awful, and it really hit her hard. About a week later, she told me she wanted to try again for a baby. I didn't know how to tell her no. She was so distraught."

He seemed to be going to a place that was no longer here with me in his bedroom. I just held him as tightly as I could.

"I just kept making up excuses to not have sex with her. I had to write a paper, or I had a group project I had to do. She caught on and picked a fight with me. She accused me of blaming her for losing the baby. I was so depressed. My grades started slipping. I started blowing off class to avoid her. I finally called my dad again to let him know what was happening. I felt like I was drowning. He flew out and helped me take care of her; help try to make her better. He talked to her parents and got her help. She was checked into a mental health facility. I thought that she was going to be ok, once she took care of herself again. But it never happened. There was never a chance to…"

He broke off, and took a shuddering breath. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. This wonderful man that I knew had been through so much, so early in his life.

"She faked it all."

This time I literally snapped completely away from him. I stared in complete disbelief at the words he had just spoken.

"_What_?" My voice was barely a whisper.

He just rolled onto his back and stared straight up at the ceiling. "She faked the pregnancy. She faked it all. She tortured me. She tried to trick me into actually getting her pregnant. I almost let her." He said the last part lowly, as if he was ashamed of himself.

I laid myself next to him, cradling his head into my chest. We lay like that for a few minutes before he pulled back.

"I applied for a transfer not too long after that. I couldn't stay there after all of that. I finished the year and just came home. I did say good-bye to her though. I didn't even yell or anything. I was just broken.

"Then you came along. I dated a few girls since I came home and started going to school here, but I really didn't _want_ any of them. They were fun to be around, but there wasn't anything to keep me around for long. I began to wonder if I would ever find someone again. But then you walked into my life. And I fell for you."

He was looking at me now, square in the eyes. His face and voice were so full of emotion; my eyes nearly began to tear.

He smiled weakly at me. "We now come to what I had originally wanted to talk about. It's hard for me to be with you because I'm scared. I'm scared of the way I felt in New Hampshire. I _loved_ her, and she nearly ruined me. I'm scared of that happening again. I know that you won't do that to me though, that's what's keeping me here. You are different. I'm just not sure I know how to be that boy anymore. But I want to try. I want you. Only you."

I knew what he was asking. I looked into his handsome face and saw fear and vulnerability, but I saw life and conviction in the way he looked at me. I nodded vigorously.

"Yes, Edward. Yes."

His mouth crashed to mine then, conveying everything he had been feeling throughout our time in his room. There was a tentative fear in this kiss, but there was so much vigor, like he was claiming me. I responded in kind, letting him do what he needed to feel safe again. I ran my hands up and down his back to soothe him. He shifted so he was fully on top of me now, supporting his weight on his elbows, and his hips pressed between my legs. His tongue plundered my mouth almost violently, and I gripped his hair in an effort to pull him closer. He groaned deeply into my mouth before dragging his mouth down my neck and nipping the skin there.

He slid down my body, slipping his hands under my borrowed t-shirt and moving it upward until it bunched above my breasts. His lips followed his hands, dragging from my belly button to the valley between my breasts where he nipped and sucked against the skin he found there. I ran my hands through his hair and down over his back, feeling the way his muscles shifted as he moved. He moved back down until he came to the waist band of my bathing suit. He pressed his lips to a spot right above them before he lowered his lips right over my center. He pressed a kiss and then nipped me through the material of my bathing suit. I squeaked in surprise and jerked away from him.

"Bella? Are you ok? Did I do something wrong?" He had sat up now, leaning forward on his hands and looking at me in concern.

"No, you just startled me. No…no one has ever done that…to me…" I trailed off, feeling like an idiot.

He stared for a moment before he cleared his throat.

"Are you…are you a virgin?" His voice was soft, soothing.

"Oh…no. But the guy I was with previously never…did _that_." I wanted to crawl into a hole.

He smiled at me and pressed his face into my stomach. He dragged a sloppy kiss down to where he was before and began to drag my bikini bottoms down. I trembled slightly in anticipation.

"Well, I'm going to show you how it's done." He lifted my legs so that my feet were planted flat on the bed, bent at the knee. He looked at me and placed a soft, sensual kiss to the inside of my knee. He shifted more fully between my legs and gently pressed them further apart. He leaned up and pressed his mouth just below my belly button again and looked up at me. Then he moved his face between my legs.

He started slowly, easing me into it. He took short, gentle licks, starting at my entrance and working his way up to swirl around my clit. It was the most intense feeling. I was panting and squirming, unable to get used to the sensation. He slid his arms under my legs and ran his hands up my sides. He started to increase his pressure now, taking a nip here and there, and sucking every so often. He splayed his fingers across my ribs and gripped me tightly, holding me in place. I placed a hand in his hair in an effort to get him closer. I was starting to relish in the sensations I was feeling, letting out a guttural moan when he moved to suck my clit into his mouth. I felt him smile against me. Finally, the pressure started to build to a breaking point, and I began to rock against his face, eager for my release.

"Oh, yes Edward, _please_." I was moaning uncontrollably now, and I could hardly find it in myself to care.

I felt the flames rise and let them overtake me as I finally came with a deep moan of Edward's name.

He continued to move his lips against me gently as I regained my composure. He finally moved upward, planting kisses randomly over my stomach and chest before he reached my face. He kissed me deeply, and I moaned softly into his mouth.

He turned and buried his head into my neck, clutching me tightly.

"Was that okay?" he whispered in my ear.

"Okay? I think that was _far_ more than okay, Edward." I felt him shake a little with laugher when I felt just how much _he_ had enjoyed the activities as well. I was determined to hold up my end this time.

I nudged him over onto his back and moved to straddle his stomach. I tugged on his t-shirt, signaling to him that I wanted it off. He sat up a bit and whipped the t-shirt off and discarded it on the floor, before he grabbed my own shirt and stripped me of that as well. I began to kiss down his chest until I got to the waistband of his own bathing suit. I felt him start to talk, probably to protest. I sat up and looked at him.

"You did for me, and now I will do for you. It's only fair. I still feel bad about leaving you with blue balls last weekend."

He stared at me for a moment before he began to laugh.

"You never stop surprising me." And he laid back down without a complaint.

I untied the drawstring of his bathing suit and tugged it down his legs. After I tossed it to the floor, I looked back at what was waiting for me.

He was average, a bit on the larger side, but not some monster cock that I always hear described. It would be more than enough to keep me satisfied, I was sure.

I wrapped my hand around the base and took his head into my mouth. I squeezed a bit as I sucked his head, causing him to groan and lift his hips off the bed. I smiled and began to take more of him into my mouth, running my tongue along the underside of him slowly, while adding more pressure as I went lower. I could hear his breathing getting harsher so I squeezed him again and he moaned louder. I grinned wickedly. I began to bob my head, moving my hand in time with my mouth. I applied more suction as I got closer to the tip before swirling my tongue around his head with each pass, and then bringing my head down again. His hand came down to cup the back of my head as I began to increase my pace, ready to get him off. His hand moved up and threaded into my hair, gripping tighter as he got closer. His hips were jerking now, so I moved my free hand to still them as best I could.

"Bella," he panted. "Baby, I'm close, oh I'm…"

He groaned loudly and lifted his hips, coming into my mouth in quick little spurts. His hips and arms dropped to the bed and he was panting harshly. He was still groaning lightly every few seconds and I had to smile at him. I leaned up and kissed his mouth before moving to lie next to him. He turned to me and buried his head into my cleavage, wrapping his arms around me tightly. We stayed like that for a few minutes before he looked up at me, a bit in awe. He reached his hand out and gripped the base of my neck.

"You are completely and utterly amazing, I hope you know that. That was literally the best blow job I have ever had, in my life." He pressed his lips to mine a little roughly, biting and nipping at my lips. He was rolling me onto my back when I heard a phone go off.

"Fuck!" he groaned and rolled off the bed. He walked to his dresser and retrieved a cordless phone from under a stack of papers. I leered at his naked ass a bit.

"Hello? Hi mom….Yeah we will be up in two minutes, Bella and I were just talking…all right….I'll see you in a few minutes." He hung up and put the phone back on the dresser, leaning against it for a moment before opening one of the drawers and pulling out a pair of boxers. He turned back to me walked to the side of the bed.

"Apparently, our time is up. Movie night is starting and we are not allowed to miss it." He smiled at me and offered me his hand. I got up and walked to the spot where Edward had dropped my over night bag and quickly pulled on my pajama shorts, discarded my bikini top and pulled on the tank top I had brought. I ran across the hallway quickly to brush my teeth.

When I walked back into Edward's bedroom, he was sitting on the edge of the bed, his elbows on his knees, looking down at the floor.

"I'm all set."

His eyes snapped up to me and he smiled, raising himself off the bed. He took my hand and we started toward the house.

As we passed the pool, he stopped me, wrapped his arm around me and pressed a kiss to my temple.

"We could always blow off movie night and go skinny-dipping."

I pulled back.

"No way am I skinny-dipping with your parents inside. Are you out of your mind?"

He laughed and pulled me over to the edge of the pool. The lights had been turned on, so there was a glow emitting from the water of the pool. The night had gotten cool and the water was warmer than the air, so a light steam was rising up from the surface. It was a gorgeous sight.

"Are you _sure_ you don't want to go skinny dipping?"

I debated for another moment.

"Maybe when everyone is asleep."

He let out a giddy laugh and pulled me toward the house.

* * *

So there you have it. I'm going to try to start Chapter 10 today or tomorrow so that it will be out later this week. I always feel bad leaving this story without an update for too long. I will see you soon! Don't forget to review :')


	10. Movies and Late Night Swims

**Ugh, sorry about the wait. I've really been trying to update once a week, but I really have to be in the mood to write and sometimes, it just doesn't happen. If I got over a week and a half, feel free to PM me and yell at me. Seriously. **

**This chapter is unbeta'd because I was getting antsy to update (rofl I am the worst person ever. I am sorry Geenah). I checked it like 12 times, so if there are any mistakes, I am so sorry. **

**There is a A/N at the bottom about the story, and the plot and stuff, so check it out. I'm shutting up now. **

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When we walked into the house, I was quickly abducted by Alice and dragged toward the kitchen. I shot Edward a look of distress, but he just grinned and shrugged his shoulders at me. Traitor.

Once I was in the kitchen, Alice took a bag of popcorn off the counter and tossed it in the microwave.

"Well, aren't you making yourself at home in Edward's parents house?" I was smirking at her and leaning against one of the counters.

She just shrugged and smiled. "Esme is very welcoming. She told me I could do whatever I wanted in here." She looked wistfully around the kitchen. Alice loved kitchens. Her eyes snapped to me. "Enough about me. What were you and Edward doing down in his _secluded_ cottage?" She raised her eyebrows suggestively.

I tried to remain nonchalant. "We talked about a lot of things." Which wasn't a lie, we had talked, at first.

"Oh yeah? What exactly were you _talking_ about?"

I shot her a disapproving look. "Things that are personal, and aren't really any of your business. All you need to know is that we talked, and then he asked me to be his girlfriend."

Her face lit up and she hugged me. "It's about time! The two of you act like a couple already; I was beginning to wonder what he was waiting for."

"We've really only been dating a week, it seems like so much longer than that though."

"The two of you are very adorable. He seems quite fond of you." She smiled softly at me. "He's going to be good to you, I can see it. I've never seen someone look at another person the way that he looks at you."

I lowered my head and flushed a little.

"I really like him, too. He makes me feel better about myself. I don't feel so worthless with him. I've been in such a mood since I got here, because of school and everything, and he makes me not worry about those things. He makes me happy. I feel like he understands where I'm coming from."

Alice smiled and was going to say something more when the microwave beep at the same time that I heard Emmett hollering that the movie was about to start. Alice and I hurried and entered the living room just in time.

The Cullen's living room was very spacious with a large flat screen TV on the wall. There were several sofas, each couple was occupying one. Emmett and Rosalie were curled up on the right side of the living room on a fluffy white couch. Jasper was waiting for Alice on a loveseat that was positioned right in front of the TV and Edward was sprawled over the couch all the way to the left. He saw me and grinned, sitting up and stretching his legs out for me to sit between them.

I crawled onto the couch and snuggled into his chest as he wrapped his arms around me. I was instantly reminded of the night last weekend, when Edward and I were in a similar position on the couch in his cottage. As shiver ran through my body.

"Are you cold?" He whispered to me as he tugged an afghan off the back of the couch. He draped it over us and I turned on my side a little more. I couldn't really see the movie, but I didn't care. I pressed my face into his neck, and his hands started to slide over my body. One hand slid up and down my back while the other rested on the bare skin of my thigh, squeezing before his fingers just danced over my whole leg.

"Hands where I can see them, Edward." Emmett's voice sounded amused and teasing. Edward just groaned and moved his arms to the outside of the blanket. He wrapped them around me and lost all pretenses and just pulled my body completely to his. My legs slipped to either side of him and I was almost straddling him, with my legs stretched along his. I shifted to get comfortable and just closed my eyes. I was very warm now and quite content.

He chuckled softly in my ear. "You aren't watching the movie."

"I don't really care about the movie." He chuckled more and tilted my head up. He kissed me softly before he rested his cheek on my head. I sighed and rested my head into his neck once more.

They watched the movie in silence for while before Edward's hands began to roam again. This time, I shifted to his side so that my back was against the back of the couch and I tugged him with me. I glanced over his shoulder to check on the others. Rosalie was asleep against Emmett who seemed to be enthralled by the movie. Jasper and Alice were snuggled up and I couldn't tell if they were sleeping or not, but either way they certainly weren't be paying attention to us.

I shifted my legs to twine with his, slinging one of them over his hips. I slipped one of my hands into his hair and tugged his mouth to mine. He groaned softly into my mouth and slid his hand down my back to grip my backside. I pulled my mouth away from his to pant a little. I looked up at him and he was grinning down at me lazily. He gazed at me for a moment, his eyes dark and his lips glistening in the soft light, before he recaptured my mouth. We kissed softly, with his tongue gently plundering and exploring my mouth.

His hand slid up my front and under the t-shirt I was wearing. In our haste to get up to the house after Esme had called, I hadn't put a bra on. Edward's wandering hands found my bare left breast and he squeezed and flicked my nipple. The moan that came out of my mouth would have been very loud if Edward's mouth hadn't been covering mine. I thanked God that the movie was playing louder than my moaning.

He pulled back slightly, whispering "shhh" against my lips and removing his hand from under my shirt. He dragged his lips across my cheek before he pressed them softly to my ear. I was panting in earnest and clutched him tighter to me, burying my nose in his shoulder. His hand came up and cupped the back of my head.

"Do you want to go out to the pool? I think that we might need to cool down." I could hear the humor in his voice and I giggled. I pulled back to look at his face and I nodded. He smiled softly and ran the back of his fingers over my cheek and pressed a tender kiss to my lips before he began to disentangle us. I reluctantly removed my thigh from his hip and let go of this t-shirt that was bunched in my hands.

We stood up carefully and slipped out of the living room without anyone noticing us. Once we got outside, Edward took off running down the lawn to the pool. His light laughter was filling the still night air. I walked at a regular pace, just taking him in. He had a child-like innocence at times. He was so carefree and happy. I was glad to see him that way, knowing now the things he had been through in his young life.

I smiled as he reached the pool long before I did and he turned around to wait for me a bit impatiently. I giggled when I got within arms reach and he grabbed me, pulling me closely to his chest and snuggled his face into my neck. He placed sloppy, loud kisses all up the column of my neck and he began to tickle me. I started squirming and yelping, trying to free myself from his grasp, but he only wrapped his arms around me and crushed me to him and locking my arms at my sides. He pulled his face back and looked down at me.

I'm sure my face was flushed and shiny from laughing and my hair was probably out of control because of the chlorine that was in it, but he didn't seem to care. He just leaned down, tilting his head slightly, and pressing his lips to mine. In my nineteen years of life, I had never really experienced something that I loved more than kissing Edward. It would never get old to me. His lips were so soft and the pressure he used was always just right, like he had some sort of ability to know exactly what I wanted at every moment. My lips parted with a breathy sigh, and he never missed an opportunity to slip his tongue in my mouth. But this time, I fought back. I usually just let him plunder however he pleased, but not now. I reached my tongue out and slid it against his, swirling around the tip of his. He groaned in approval and reached up to cup my face, and moved to kiss me deeper. We kissed slowly, our tongues sliding perfectly, gently over each other. After a few moments his tongue retreated into his mouth and I followed, tasting his mouth directly for the first time. He tasted like nothing I had ever known before, but at the same time, it was like something I had known all of my life. I relished it in.

I finally pulled back and he placed quick, gentle kisses on my lips before resting his head on my shoulder. I nuzzled his head with mine and ran my fingers through his hair.

He pulled back and grinned.

"So much for cooling off," he chuckled as he shook his head. I just shrugged and shot him a smile.

He let got of me and started to walk towards the pool house. He reached behind his back and slid his t-shirt over his head, tossing it on a lawn chair before he disappeared through the door. My mouth watered at the sight of his back muscles shifting. I was a sucker for backs. I couldn't wait to run my finger nails across his as he hovered over me…

"All right, Bella. Get naked." My eyes snapped to him, jolting me from my fantasy. He was standing by the lawn chair he discarded his shirt on and was about to lower his shorts. I didn't know if I should stare or look away. I chose to flush and turn around, and I quickly pulled my t-shirt over my head and pulled my shorts off. I grabbed my t-shirt up off the chair and held it to my chest as I turned around. He was still standing there with his shorts on. He raised an eyebrow.

"Can I get in first?" I was feeling embarrassed and shy all of sudden.

He smiled. "Sure. Do you want me to turn around?" He sounded like he was teasing a little, but I knew that he meant it.

"Please."

He nodded and turned around. I scurried to the steps of the pool and quickly slid in. The water was warm and I quickly moved into the deeper part of the pool to feel the warmth envelop me. I heard a splash in the deep side of the pool and suddenly felt Edward's hands on my legs. I made a small noise of surprise as he tugged me under a little.

He broke the surface and pushed his hair out of his face before he wrapped his arms around me. He smiled and smoothed my hair back, gliding his hands over my bare shoulders. With his arms still around me, he waded us to toward a sort of bench seat that was carved out of the wall of the pool. I sat down and he sat next to me, sliding his hand around my waist and tugging me to him. The water came up to about my collar bone. It was perfect.

"This is lovely. I'm glad you suggested it," I said quietly, looking around at the softly lit water.

He squeezed my side before sliding his hand over my back. He leaned into my ear. "I'm glad I suggested it too."

"Let's just hope that Emmett doesn't realize we are out here." I really didn't want him canon balling in and finding us naked.

"Nah. If anything, he will think we went back down to the cottage. He was still awake, I'm sure he heard us going at it on the couch." He was smiling wickedly at me. I smacked his chest.

He just laughed and reached his hand up to cup the back of my head. He kissed me gently and then slipped his arm over my shoulders.

"I don't want you to think that I always go this fast with the girls I date." He offered very quietly, unexpectedly. "We've only been dating for a week. But you feel so perfect, and I just feel like I have no control." He sounded like he was annoyed with himself.

"Hey, don't worry about it. We can go as fast or as slow as we need to." I shifted a little towards him, sliding into his lap slightly. He wrapped his arm around my lower back and rested his other hand on my leg. I put my hand on his cheek and made him look at me. "I have no control when I'm with you either. This is the first relationship that I've _wanted_ to do these kinds of things."

He looked confused for a moment. "You didn't want to have sex with your last boyfriend? Did he force you?" He looked panicked and pulled me too him tightly. "Oh my God, Bella. I am so sorry, did I…"

"Stop."

He shut his mouth but looked terrified and disgusted with himself.

"He didn't force me. And neither have you. He was just awful at all things sexual." I giggled a little in spite of myself. He looked at me to explain myself.

I sighed. "I started dating Jacob my sophomore year of high school. I had met him my freshman year and we were really good friends. And then it sort of developed into something more. He was really good to me in the beginning. The summer between sophomore and junior year, we started sleeping together. I thought that it was bad because it was our first time, and we were new at it. But in never did get better. I just endured it, and he didn't seem to care that I didn't enjoy myself. Or maybe he was just too unaware to realize."

Edward had an annoyed look on his face, like he'd like to punch someone.

"I made excuses to get out of sleeping with him. I, uh, I got good at giving blow jobs," I paused, closing my eyes and cringing a bit. I really hated talking about sex out loud, "Just so that he wouldn't ask me for sex as often. It worked for a while."

"That explains it." Edward murmured, mostly to himself. He had a far off, wistful look in his eyes.

"What?"

He looked at me a little sheepishly before looking down. "I wasn't kidding before when I said that that was the best blow job I had ever gotten."

I flushed a little and smiled.

"It's still not fair though, Bella. Why would you stay with him if he treated you that way? It's obvious that he really didn't care about you. If he truly cared about you, he would have put your needs before his own."

I shrugged. "He was my first love, my first boyfriend. He was all I had ever known. I thought that maybe there was something wrong with me, I didn't know better. I wasn't really secure enough with myself at the time to tell him to get lost, either. All of my friends were his friends. I was scared to lose it all.

"But eventually I did. Apparently he had been telling everyone that I had stopped putting out, which I had, but that's beside the point. He dumped me a week before junior prom, in front of all of our friends. I had bought my dress and everything. I just kind of became a recluse after that. Alice was my only friend."

Edward cupped my face and kissed me gently. This kiss was telling me that he would never hurt me like that. That he would always be there for me. He pulled back and rested his forehead against mine, grinning slightly.

"I was going to suggest that we wait for a while before we have sex, to slow things down. But, I am nearly overcome with the urge to drag you down to the cottage and show you how a man is supposed to make love to his girlfriend." He pressed his lips to mine again.

"Mmm." I hummed against his lips. His words were doing things to me; so were his kisses.

He pulled back and looked at me in question. My brain was a little foggy and I looked at him like I was a little punch-drunk.

"Keep kissing me like that and I might take you up on that offer."

He groaned. "My need for you is insatiable. I don't think I can ever have enough." He kissed me again abruptly.

He felt so right; everything about him. The way it felt to be in his arms, and the way it felt to have him in my arms. I wondered how I went my whole life never knowing him. How did I exist before him?

"If you really want to do this tonight, Isabella, then you have to get out of this pool and walk to my house naked. You can't hide behind your t-shirt forever. Sex usually includes naked people." His eyes were teasing, but I knew he was dead serious.

"What if someone sees me?!"

He laughed. "That is the chance you will have to take, isn't it?" I knew he was probably expecting me not to do it, but I was determined to be bolder. I shot him a challenging glance and turned to climb out of the pool. I walked to the chair that had my clothes and picked them up, sliding my sandals on, then starting towards the cottage. I was at a determined pace, trying not to think about someone looking out of the window at me. Especially not Edward's parents. Or worse, Emmett.

I wasn't even half way there when Edward appeared at my side with a towel. He tossed it over my shoulders and I looked over at him. He was looking at me in awe, amusement, and complete adoration.

"I never in a million years expected you to actually do that. God, you are amazing." He tossed his arm over my shoulders and we walked the rest of the way to the house. I noticed that he had put his shorts back on. I should have been annoyed at him for making me walk naked, but he didn't have to. I glared at him and he just chuckled.

"We don't have to actually do this, Bella. I was just teasing you."

I shot him a smile that I hoped was seductive. "Well, that's really a shame. I was really looking forward to you showing me," I leaned into his ear, "how a real man makes love to his girlfriend."

He let out a slightly strangled sound and quickened our pace to the cottage.

We made it to the house and slipped inside quietly. We walked to his bedroom and I dropped all of my stuff near my bag on the floor, sat down on the bed and waited for him to join me. My stomach was fluttering. I felt like this was the first time I was having sex. Well, for all intents and purposes, I was, and I was scared out of my mind.

When I looked up at him, I could tell that his mood had changed. He paced back and forth in front of me for a moment before he sat next to me. He seemed agitated suddenly and I was worried I had done something wrong. He put his head in his hands and sighed.

I placed a tentative hand on his back. "Edward, what's the matter? We don't have to do this…"

But he just shook his head and looked at me. His eyes were sad, remorseful, his expression was pained.

"I feel like I need to tell you something. I couldn't tell you before, because I hadn't told you about the things that had happened to me in New Hampshire. I have to tell you before we go any further. I lied to you."

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**A/N:**

**Ok this is going to be a little long, but for the sake of things, it needs to be. A few people have expressed some questions/concerns that I will address.**

**1. Bella is not going to get pregnant. Ever. Well maybe not EVER, but not in the context and time line of the story. Edward is not going to have a repeat of what happened with his Dartmouth girlfriend, who doesn't actually have a name, lol. I just didn't want to name her something cliché that everyone calls Edward's ex-girlfriend, and I still haven't decided. I should pick one though, she comes up again next chapter.**

**2. A few people at Twilighted have said that Bella is bouncing back from "rock bottom" too quickly. They're right, and the same time they are wrong, lol. She is bouncing back kind of quick and that is why she is moving so fast with Edward. She is kind of desperate to forget her past failures and move on to something good. But she's not dealing with them. Edward is good for her, but she might becoming too dependant on him.**

**Also, I've changed the story summary a little, nothing too drastic. The plot outline has changed quite a bit since my original layout of this story. I had originally intended for Edward and Bella to work at Sofie's together much longer before Edward 'vanishes', so the story was supposed to be drawn out more. That's kind of why I have them moving so fast in their physical relationship, I had intended them to know each other longer, but the fastness works for where the story is going now. The original summary went along with Edward vanishing for a longer amount of time, but now I've changed it to fit where this story is now heading. Edward's absence will be addressed more next chapter though, so hold tight :)**

**If anyone has any more questions about the story or this jumbled and confusing A/N, leave a comment of feel free to PM me.**


	11. Soon

**Hi, you are correct, this is me posting an update for Rock Bottom! :D If you have stuck with me, I thank you very much. I must seem so flighty, lmao. **

**Anyway, here's chapter 11 **

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"…_lied_ to me?" I pulled away from him and got off the bed. I grabbed a t-shirt off the floor and put it on, and tried to calm the panic that was beginning to wash over me.

"Wait, please let me explain. I promise you, whatever you are thinking, it's not it." He reached for my arm and pulled me toward him. I resisted a bit, and refused to meet his eyes.

"Bella…" His voice was soft and pleading as he gently tugged on my arm. "Look at me."

I reluctantly lifted my eyes to meet his. His face was sad and remorseful, his brow was creased and his eyes were looking back and forth between my own. He tugged my arm once more, and I acquiesced, sitting down next to him despite his efforts to pull me into his lap. He sighed.

"I was in New Hampshire, not taking that accelerated class like I told you. Chloe has been doing better. They are looking into releasing her and letting her try to start her life again. Her doctors have been evaluating her and she wanted me to come see her. I went; I needed some closure, I guess. I never really got any when I left the first time since I just wanted to get away from that situation entirely. She wasn't really in a state for me to tell her everything I needed to when I left New Hampshire, either."

I nodded, understanding. He couldn't tell me that yet when he met me in the parking lot that night he asked me out.

"I'm sorry." I looked at him, feeling foolish for reacting before he even had a chance to explain. "I shouldn't have jumped to a conclusion."

He shook his head and slid his arm around my shoulder. "I really should have phrased it differently. Just saying 'I lied to you' probably wasn't very smart of me."

I turned and pressed my cheek into his bare chest. He was warm and soft and smelled like something that made me feel at home. He tightened his arm and lay back on the bed.

"What did she say to you when you met with her?" I snuggled a little closer and placed my hand on his chest. The mood of this visit to his bedroom had taken a complete 180.

"She apologized to me. She's a lot better now, but she still has issues that they are working on. She probably won't be back to her old self for a long time, but she's getting there. I wish there was more I could do to help her and her parents, but I did that. I did that for so long, it's not my place anymore. She knows that she hurt me in ways that she will never atone for. She told me when I left this last time that she wouldn't burden me any longer. She wants me to move on, too. I'm tired of being angry at her. She did _horrible_ things to me, but I just don't want to hold that resentment anymore, you know?"

He took a deep breath and sighed. "I'm sorry. I had been dealing with this and now, it just seems to have blown up all over again. I should have told you."

"Edward, when else would you have told me? It's really only been a week. I'm not upset with you. You didn't really _keep_ anything from me. I understand why you didn't tell me until now."

"I know, but I should have told you earlier tonight. I'm sorry."

He squeezed me a little tighter to him and began to shift his body. He shifted until his head was on the pillows and he tugged me along with him.

"It's late; we should probably try to get some sleep. I'm sure you are probably tired."

I agreed with him whole heartedly. Today just seemed to drain me and I suddenly felt exhausted. I adjusted the pillows and Edward gingerly tugged the comforter out from underneath us. We twisted and turned until we were all settled in, facing the right way, and comfortable under the blankets. He rested on his back, turned so he was facing me a bit, with my head against his chest.

He shifted a bit more to his side, sliding his hand over my forehead and letting it rest on my cheek. He tilted my face up to look at him.

"Thank you." His voice was soft.

"For what?"

"Just listening to me, and dealing with me. I feel like I am a project."

"You aren't a _project_, Edward. You just have things in your past. It doesn't define who you are."

His eyes glowed with gratitude as he leaned in to kiss me. His lips moved against mine in a soft, unhurried manner. He moved his hand down to the base of my neck and tilted my head to kiss me deeper. We just kissed slowly for a few moments until he pulled back.

"Goodnight." He kissed me one more time before resting his forehead against mine.

"Night," I whispered and snuggled down into his chest.

I closed my eyes and waited for sleep to take me. Edward was sliding his fingers through my hair and I was quickly getting lulled to sleep by his ministrations. The last thing I felt were his lips pressed to my forehead.

***

When I awoke in the morning, the sun was streaming directly into my eyes through the large, east facing window in his bedroom. I shifted a little to bury my face in my pillow and felt Edward's arms tighten around me. I could feel his face pressed in between my shoulders and his arms were wrapped around my waist with his hands under my shirt and splayed out over my stomach.

"Not time to wake up yet," he mumbled into my back and slid his hands higher up my stomach. I settled back against him, not ready to get up either.

We lapsed again into silence. I figured he had fallen back asleep, as I looked out the window at the morning sun through the trees behind the cottage.

"You are warm," he offered unexpectedly and slid his body up so he could press his face into my neck. He sounded almost like he was still asleep.

"Thank you?" I laughed.

"You're welcome."

I laughed to myself a little as he started to leave sloppy kisses on my neck. I squirmed away, giggling and he gripped me tighter.

"What time is it?" he asked, placing one more lingering kiss to my neck before he began to disentangle his body from my own.

"Quarter after nine," I responded, glancing at the alarm clock on the bed side table.

He rolled onto his back and I turned over to look at him. I rested my head on my hand and placed the other hand on his chest. He was rubbing the sleep from his eyes before he looked up at me.

"Do you want some breakfast? We could go to the diner on the way back to your house."

"That sounds wonderful, I'm starving. Can I take a shower first, though? I have chlorine in my hair and its making it very unmanageable, I'm sure."

He glanced up to take in the state of my hair and a smile spread across his face.

"I don't know if 'unmanageable' is the right word, but 'haystack' sure is." I could see the mirth in his eyes and he tried not to burst out laughing at my expense.

I groaned and my hands flew up in an attempt to smooth it down. Edward sat up and grabbed my hands before leaning in to kiss me softly.

"You look fine. Go ahead and take a shower and then we will go have a lovely breakfast before I have to return you to your father."

I nodded and he kissed me again, and then released my hands.

"There are towels in the cabinet next to the shower. There is shampoo and everything in there too, if you need it. My mother frequently stocks the bathroom with toiletries. I think that she's been hoping, for a while now, that I would bring a girl here who would need them and you will make her day." He was smiling at me, a bit of a twinkle in his eye.

"Well, I would be glad to make your mother's day then." I smiled back and slid out of the bed. I walked over to my over night bag and bent down to extract some clean clothes when I heard Edward gasp behind me. I whipped around to look at him.

"What's wrong? Are you okay?" I walked back to the bed to make sure he was all right. He was sitting with his eyes closed and his jaw clenched.

"I just forgot that you didn't put shorts or anything on last night before we went to sleep. And now I'm remembering what our plans were when we came back here last night." His eyes were considerably darker when he opened them to look at me.

"Oh, um," I bit my lip and tried to remain composed, but now images of last night began to flood my mind. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. I opened them after a moment and leaned down to press a soft kiss to his lips before pulling back to press them to his ear.

"Soon," was all I said before I turned and walked across the hall into the bathroom. I closed the door and made sure to lock it, so Edward wouldn't come barging through and take me against the counter.

_On second thought…_

I shook my head and started the shower. I pulled a few towels out of the cabinet and found a few bottles of shampoo and conditioner on the bottom shelf. I smiled and made a mental note to thank Esme.

I showered quickly and packed up my bag. Edward was waiting for me in the kitchen, sipping a cup of coffee. I leaned next to him on the counter.

"Feel better?" he asked.

"Much better. Your mother picked the perfect shampoo, too. I'll be sure to thank her the next time I see her."

He smiled and set his coffee down. He turned and wrapped his arms around me, pulling me snuggly to his chest.

"May I have a proper good morning kiss?"

I smiled up at him. "I suppose so. You kissed me for the first time in this very spot."

He looked around and smiled. "So I did. But I think that you were," he tightened his arms around me and lifted me to sit on the counter, "here. Am I right?"

"Mmm, you are very correct."

He chuckled before capturing my lips with his. He lips moved quickly and with purpose. Both of his hinds came up to grip the back of my head, his fingers threading through my damp hair. He pressed his lips more forcefully to mine, using his hands in my hair as leverage. I whimpered softly as he slid his tongue along my lips and I parted them with a soft sigh. I slid my hands under his shirt, splaying my hands out over his stomach and sliding them around to rest on his lower back. He stepped closer to me and I dug my fingers into his skin, raking them up a little. He groaned and tugged on my lower lip with his teeth, sucking on it roughly. He slowed the kiss after that, skimming his hands down my bare arms and placing a few soft kisses on my lips. I slid my hands back around his stomach and pressed them there. With one final kiss he pulled back and cupped my cheek.

"Good morning." He was smiling a little devilishly at me.

I sighed. "Good morning indeed. You should come to my house and wish me a good morning like that everyday."

"Hmmm," he seemed to ponder as he wrapped his arms around my back. "I doubt the Chief would care for me cornering you in the kitchen and having my way with you. Which I would. Every morning." He had moved his face closer to mine and whispered the last part. I shuddered lightly and looked up at him through my eyelashes. He was smirking and swooped down for one more kiss before whispering "soon" against my lips. This was starting to become our mantra. At this rate though, 'soon' was going to be in the next 5 minutes.

He helped me down off of the counter and grabbed his keys from the hook over the stove. We walked towards the front door and I grabbed my bag on the way. He led me to the passenger door and took my bag from me, tossing it into the trunk quickly before rounding the back of the car and taking his seat behind the wheel.

***

After breakfast, we headed back to my house. Breakfast had been quiet; we talked about how he wasn't planning on going back to work at Sofie's this summer because he wanted to enjoy his last summer before he graduated college. He was going to live it up, and I guess that included me.

When we got home, Charlie was there. I presumed he had taken the day off, or was doing the night shift tonight so that he could be home when Edward dropped me off. We pulled into the driveway and got out. Edward walked around to my side of the car and pulled me in for a hug.

"I'll call you this week sometime, so we can get together, okay?"

I nodded, placing my hands on his chest. "I have my weekend with Alice this weekend and work, but we will figure something out. Maybe I can stop by after work one night."

He pressed his lips to my forehead. "That sounds fine. Just call me and let me know. Sometimes I go out with Emmett, so I just want to make sure that I'm home."

I smiled up at him and he kissed me gently. He pulled back, smoothing my hair down and pressing a soft kiss to my cheek. My stomach fluttered.

"Your dad is waiting by the door; you better head in before he comes out here and harms me." He was chuckling but I could tell he was a little worried that my father would indeed harm him. He popped the trunk open, pulled my bag out, and walked me to the door, waving to my father through the window before he slid his hand down my arm.

"I'll talk to you in a few days."

I nodded and waved as he got in his car and pulled out. I turned and headed into the house a little forlornly. I had just spent 24 hours with Edward and shared his bed for the night. How was I going to go on now for the rest of the week?

When I got inside, Charlie was waiting for me by the stairs.

"Hi, dad," I greeted as I closed the door behind me.

"Hi. Did you have a nice time?"

"Very nice. The Cullens are lovely, and they have an enormous house. It was a lot of fun."

"Good, good." He smiled, but it seemed that he was just getting pleasantries out of the way. "You seem to be getting serious with this boy. Are you?"

"I guess I am." I smiled but I was starting to feel a bit of panic. Could I do this? Could I be a good girlfriend? What if this was something else that I failed at? I pushed the white, hot fear that began to bubble in my stomach down. I was being absurd.

"So you are telling me that I'm going to be seeing a lot of him?"

I smiled and decided to tease him. "You don't _have_ to see him. I could always just go to his house all the time. He doesn't even need to come here; his house is closer to Sofie's anyway…"

"No, no. He can come here on occasion, I don't mind. I'd actually like to get to know him a bit. I know his parents from having to work a bit in Port Angeles for some things. Very nice people."

I nodded in agreement and started up the stairs. "I'll be back down in a bit. I'm gonna do some laundry. I'm a bit behind and running out of clothes."

"Sounds good. I have to head into work around 3, so you are on your own for dinner. Will you be okay?"

"Yeah, it's no problem." I smiled and made my way to my bedroom. I was anxious to get away from everything so that I could collect the thoughts that were beginning to wash over me. I sat down on my bed and buried my head in my hands.

Why was this happening to me now? Edward and I were great, so why was I automatically assuming the worst?

***

The rest of the week did nothing to calm my fears. Between work, home and other things that seemed to crop up, like an exploding dishwasher that I had to sit around and wait for the repair man, I hadn't gotten a chance to see Edward at all this week. The one night I was free and might get to see him, he told me that Emmett had kidnapped him and taken him to Seattle for a party. I told him I wasn't upset, and I wasn't. But, I had this panic that was creeping in on me. Why weren't we syncing up like we had; we just seemed to be moving past each other.

Saturday morning came and I was packed and ready for my weekend with Alice. I said goodbye to Charlie and was on my way to Alice's apartment when my cell phone rang at a stop light. I pulled my phone out of my purse and answered it hurriedly.

"Hello?"

"Bella! Oh, Bella please tell me you haven't left yet!"

"Yeah, I left about fifteen minutes ago. Why? Do you need something?"

"Shit! I am so sorry Bella. Jasper surprised me with this getaway and I feel horrible because it's our weekend for our girl time. I can tell him no if you are upset about it."

"Alice. Don't worry about it! It's not a big deal at all, we can just do it next weekend, I don't mind at all. Go have fun with Jasper, and enjoy yourself."

"Are you absolutely sure? I don't want you to lie to me and tell me you are ok with it when you aren't."

"It's perfectly fine. Go, have a wonderful time and you can tell me all about it when you get back, okay?"

There was a moment of silence before the other end of the line exploded.

"Oh my God, Bella thank you, thank you! I will make this up to you like you would not believe. I'll take you shopping and buy you anything you want, lingerie for Edward, a car, anything."

I laughed. "Alice, it's fine. Just go!"

She squealed once more and we said our goodbyes.

_Well, crap. Now what am I going to do with my weekend?_

I continued my drive to Port Angeles and was struck with an idea. I had all weekend free and Charlie thought I was going to be with Alice for the entirety of it. I turned into a gas station and pulled my cell phone out again. I glanced at the clock; it was quarter to eleven. Edward should be up by now.

The phone rang 3 times before he finally answered and he seemed groggy and a bit out of breath.

"Hello?" I giggled softly at his sleep voice.

"Were you still sleeping?"

I could hear his smile when he responded. "Maybe. What do I owe this phone call so early in my morning? Shouldn't you be off doing girly things with Alice right now?"

I grinned as he asked the right questions.

"Well, it seems there has been a change of plans. Jasper, boyfriend extraordinaire, surprised Alice with a lovely weekend getaway and she cancelled on me. I was just wondering if _you_ wanted to have a sleep over with me this weekend instead, being as Charlie will be under the impression that I am with Alice."

There was a slight pause on the other end of the phone as he digested my request and took in my meaning.

"Where are you?"

"I'm about to get gas in Port Angeles."

"When will you be here?"

I smiled at his eagerness.

"Soon."

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**If you think sexy times are going to happen next chapter, you are right. ;)**

**oh, also. I'm planning on having Bella and Edward have a cute little get away together in the near future, do you have suggestions? I'm thinking a weekend away at the beach or something, but I'd love to hear everyone's thoughts! **


	12. Condom Testers

**Attention passengers: There be smut ahead! :D So this would have been posted earlier today, but my computer and I had a disagreement and it like hid the completed version of this chapter and I almost had a heart attack because I would have had to rewrite the second half of this chapter. But I found it, so here it is :)**

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When I got to the cottage, the front door was open. I got out of the car, opting to leave my bag there for the time being, and made my way up the stairs. Edward was getting up off the couch as I walked through the door into the living room.

He was wearing a pair of basketball shorts that were hanging far too low on his hips to be legally allowed. His chest was bare and I had to force my eyes not roll back into my head at the sight of him. This weekend was going to be a _very _good weekend.

"You weren't kidding when you said 'soon', were you?" Edward had stopped in front of me and leaned down to kiss me softly.

I shook my head. "Nope. I wanted to get here as quickly as I could." He smiled and cupped my head, leaning in to kiss me again, this time lingering for a moment. He pulled back and guided me to the couch. He sat down next to me, pulling my legs into his lap.

"Did you have a nice week?" he asked as he leaned over me a bit, placing his arm next to me between me and the back of the couch. I sighed, slumping back against the pillow behind me.

"I don't know. I was just sort of in a bad mood all week."

He scooted a bit closer, bringing his hand to my face and smoothing my hair back.

"I'm sorry about the other night. Emmett just waltzed in here and told me were going to Seattle. We had just gotten there when you called me. I didn't have a good time at that party knowing I blew you off."

"You didn't blow me off at all, and I'm not upset that you were out with Emmett at a party. I just, I don't know. I'm just being me, I guess. I'm better now."

He looked down at me before leaning in to kiss me softly. I had missed him so much this week, more than I had even realized.

"Do you want lunch?" he asked softly, his lips brushing mine as he tilted his head to kiss me once more.

"No." That was my only response before my hand came up to grip his hair and pull him more firmly to me.

He put his hands on either side of my head and lifted himself up a bit so he could hover over me completely. My legs shifted out of his lap and I rotated slightly so I could wrap my legs around his. He lowered himself a bit and I slid my hands down the bare skin of his back. My lips parted and he slid his tongue into my mouth, rolling it languidly around mine. He pressed his hips to mine in a sharp insistent movement, and I moaned softly as my tongue slid around his and into his mouth. I lifted my legs to wrap them around his waist, tugging myself even closer. He dragged his lips away from mine and kissed across my cheek to my neck, where he stopped to suckle softly. I was just about to slide my hands around to his chest, when his lips froze against my neck and he snapped away from me and sat back on his legs.

"Edward?" I asked slightly dazed and confused by his sudden change of mood. I looked up to see him looking at the ceiling.

"Shit," he muttered, running his hands over his face.

"What's wrong?"

He sighed, looking down at me and placing his hands on my thighs.

"I literally have the worst luck on the planet, that's all."

I was still staring at him like an idiot, not understanding a word that was coming out of this mouth. He sighed again.

"Remember how Emmett came here the other night and kidnapped me and took me to Seattle? Yeah, he took the box of condoms I had out of my bedroom too because he was too lazy to go buy his own so he could have sex with Rose in his car at that fucking party." He looked back towards the ceiling and scowled a bit, before looking back at me.

"I'm sorry. I can run out and get some."

"Okay," I responded, still a little breathless.

He made a relieved sound before he leaned forward again and kissed me before jumping off the couch and running to his bedroom. I hoisted myself up and sat the right way on the couch.

He came back out of his room, grabbing his keys off of the coffee table and leaning down to kiss me once more.

"I will be back in ten minutes." He turned and jogged out the door to his car.

Once he was gone, I decided to go out to my truck and get my over night bag. I brought it inside and decided to change into a prettier set of underwear that I had in my bag. I doubted Edward would be paying much attention to it, but I would feel better about it. After I changed, I decided that maybe I was a little bit hungry, so I went to his kitchen to find something to eat. I hunted around and found some lunch meat and bread and made myself a sandwich. When I sat down at the small table in his kitchen, I noticed that it had been nearly half an hour since Edward had left.

After I finished my sandwich, I went into the living room to wait for him. I couldn't imagine what on earth could be keeping him.

About 5 minutes later, I heard his car on the gravel of his driveway. I stood and went to the door as he got out of the car. He had a very large plastic bag in one hand, and a small box in the other.

He walked in, looking exasperated, and he dropped the bag, which looked to be full of boxes of condoms, and a digital camera on the coffee table.

_I'm sorry,what?_

"Um…" I stared at the contents that were on the coffee table in confusion before looking at him for an explanation. Edward flopped down on the couch, leaning forward to put his head in his hands.

"Edward…" I wasn't sure what to say.

"I ran into your father at the pharmacy." I stared at him a bit unbelieving, before a small giggle escaped. He lifted his head and shot me a glare. I stifled my giggles and sat down next to him.

"The condoms are behind the counter. I was standing there in line waiting when your father walks in, spots me, and walks over to strike up a conversation. It's just my luck to run into the Chief of Police as I'm standing in line to buy condoms to have sex with his daughter. I told you, worst fucking luck in the planet."

He groaned and flopped back, resting his head on the back of the couch.

"The only other thing behind the counter was digital cameras. He wouldn't walk away. He just kept talking to be about why he was in the pharmacy. Something about vitamins, I have no idea."

"How much was the camera?"

"Two-hundred and fifty dollars."

My eyes popped out of my head. "Edward."

"UGH! I know, just what the fuck." Edward apparently swore much more often when he was aggravated. He put his hands over his face and just groaned in agony. I was trying hard not to laugh at the situation; it was really funny to me, but not so much for Edward. I picked up the large bag of condoms and glanced inside.

"Well, that doesn't explain why you bought enough condoms for this cottage to double as a free-clinic." I peeked at all the different kinds inside. Her pleasure, Flavored, Colored, Climax Control, and many others; there was even a small box with a set of Vibrating Base condoms inside.

_Oooh, definitely saving those for later._

He groaned again. "I stopped at a sex shop that's in downtown Port Angeles. I was so frazzled I couldn't think of another place that would sell condoms besides a damn sex shop. I really didn't want to be in there longer than was necessary, so I just grabbed one of everything they had. That was quite an investment as well."

I wanted desperately to cheer him up. He was really having a rough go of it.

"Well, we could always take up being condom testers. That could be a fun job."

It worked. He peeked at me through his fingers and snorted. I scooted closer to him and pulled his hands away from his face. He looked up at me so defeated. This whole day hadn't gone as planned for either of us.

"I'm sorry," he murmured, running a hand over his face. "I wanted this to be perfect. Or to at least go better than it has."

"Hey," I whispered as I climbed into his lap and threaded my fingers into his hair. "It doesn't matter okay? However it happens, no matter the circumstances, it's perfect."

He slid his hands around my waist and looked at me as if he was seeing me for the very first time.

"You're right. You are absolutely right." He pulled on my waist and his lips met mine, and we picked up where we left off. His hands slid up my back and his fingers curled over the top of my shoulders. He pushed his hands into my back, making me lean closer to his chest. I wrapped my arms completely around his neck He sucked on my lower lip, then took it between his teeth and tugged. I opened my eyes and he was looking up at me, his eyes hooded and nearly black. He leaned in, kissing me again, all the while keeping eye contact. He slid his arms down my back again, coming to a stop on my thighs. He tightened his hands and stood up, holding me securely to his chest. I wrapped my legs around his waist and continued to kiss him. As he walked around the coffee table, I pulled away to lean down and grab the bag to bring with us. He had gone through all that trouble, after all.

"Want to bring the digital camera?" Edward asked; his lips against my ear.

I wrapped my arms around his neck again and leaned in against his lips but didn't kiss him. "Soon."

He groaned and turned to take me to his bedroom. His lips were once again, moving lazily across mine. We reached his room and he sat down on the edge of his bed. I tossed the bag into the middle of the bed and my hands went into Edward's as we kissed with renewed vigor. I was panting heavily now and Edward's hands were roaming freely over my thighs and back, taking my t-shirt with him. My shirt was bunched around his wrists as his hands glided over my chest and I lifted my arms over my head so he could get my shirt off the rest of the way. He tossed the shirt somewhere behind me and slid his hands back down my arms to rest on my shoulder blades. Because of my position in his lap, by my chest was at eye level, and so his eyes moved greedily over my cleavage, which was more ample than usual because of the bra I had changed into.

He stared for a moment before he licked his lips. "I don't think I became properly acquainted with these the last time you were here." With that, he buried his head between them, and began to places place sloppy, wet kisses over what was exposed. I giggled a little at his ministrations and I could feel him smile against my skin. His hands slid down off of my shoulders to the clasp of my bra and flipped it open swiftly, pulling his mouth away to slide the straps down my arms. He stared again, this time his eyes were raw and hungry as his lips closed around my nipple and he sucked it roughly into his mouth. I moaned, looking down and meeting his eyes as he nipped and flicked my nipple with his tongue. His hand came up to cup the underside of my other breast, his thumb working over it gently as it hardened under his touch. I panted and clawed at his hair, all the while never taking my eyes off of his.

"Mmm," I moaned, tossing my head back as he squeezed my breast a bit roughly with his hand. I ground down against his growing erection, and he hissed, biting down on my nipple gently. I collapsed forward a little, supporting myself against his head and all the while clutching his mouth closer to my chest, as I panted loudly. He smoothed his tongue over me, soothing the pain from the bite before he dragged his lips up, pressing them to my bare shoulder before then coming to a stop on my neck.

I started to claw at his t-shirt, desperate to get it off of him to feel his skin against mine. He pulled back a bit and helped me rid him of his shirt. It joined the slowly growing pile on the floor. I slid my hands down his spine, curving arching my back a little, and pressed my chest to his. He pressed his face to my shoulder once more and we just held each other for a moment, reveling in the sensation. He pulled back, his mouth seeking mine as he slowly rolled us so he was hovering over me.

He kissed down my neck, flicked one of my collarbones with his tongue before placing a line of kisses between my breasts and over my stomach. He kissed across my ribs, dragging his teeth down over them, causing me to shudder and arch my back in pleasure. He kissed the arch of my hip and began to kiss to my navel. He opened the button on my jeans and slowly tugged them down, discarding my sandals one by one, first. I lifted my hips and he pulled my jeans down the rest of the way, then crawled back over me to place a few more kisses over my breasts and flick my nipple with his tongue.

"I really love your tits," he breathed against me, moving his face over mine to capture my lips again, while palming my breast with one hand, and sliding down to wrap his fingers around the waistband of my panties with the other. He shifted down, ghosting his lips once more over my skin, and pulled my panties down my legs, tossing them haphazardly over his shoulder. He placed one of his hands next to my hip and leaned over me a bit. His other hand came up and lightly pushed against my knee, opening my legs for him. His fingers came up to tease me, and he slid one finger inside of me. I moaned, arching my back and spreading my legs wider. Edward placed a soft kiss on the inside of my thigh, adding another finger as he bit into the tender flesh. I cried out, squirming in earnest now as his fingers worked me, growing faster as his thumb came to circle my clit. It felt too good.

"Do you like that, Bella?" His voice was husky as he looked down up at me, his lips still hovering over my inner thigh.

"Yes,." I moaned, tossing my head back. His fingers began to work me faster and I knew my orgasm was fast approaching fast. I began to lift my hips and I moved my legs even wider, allowing his fingers to go even deeper.

"Are you ready to come? I can see it in your face; you want to come so badly don't you?"

"Please, oh God." His dirty mouth was driving me insane. I gripped the sheets under my fingers and writhed as he lowered his face and sucked my clit into his mouth, roughly. That's all it took. I screamed, bowing my back almost painfully as his fingers kept moving, never decreasing their rhythm. My body began to relax and Edward's fingers began to slow, as he kissed my stomach. He finally withdrew his fingers and crawled out of bed to remove his shorts. I lay there, spent, just watching the movements of his body. I nearly came again when I saw him bring his fingers to him his mouth and suck them clean.

He crawled back over me, now gloriously naked, and grabbed the bag that I was almost laying on.

"Do you have any suggestions?" He he asked me, shooting me a smile as he dug his hand into the bag.

"Surprise me," I breathed, still a bit overwhelmed.

He pulled out a box, ripped it open and pulled a strip of them out, tearing one off the end. He leaned down, kissing me roughly before pressing his lips to my ear.

"I think we will start with _Her Pleasure_." His voice was deep and raspy and my eyes rolled completely into my head as his tongue traced the shell of my ear before he sucked the lobe into his mouth. I heard him tearing the package with his teeth and I felt his hand brush my thigh as he rolled it on. He lined himself up and kissed me as he entered me slowly.

It had been quite some time since I had been with Jacob, so my back bowed as he filled me. He rested on his forearms on either side of my head and he placed kisses all over my face as I got accustomed. I was used to this part of sex, the discomfort.

I kissed him gently and buried my face into his neck. I was not prepared for the feeling when he slid out slowly and snapped his hips forward again. The pleasure I was feeling was foreign to me. I moaned deeply into his ear and with his next thrust, I lifted my hips to meet him. It was his turn to groan as he pressed his mouth to my neck and began to suck and bite as his thrusts found a rhythm. I lifted my legs to wrap around his waist and he changed the angle of his hips so he could thrust deeper. Our bodies moved together in a perfect give and take, sliding against each other as our skin grew damp. I was moaning and panting and began to claw at his back, unable to ground myself to something as each stroke of his cock threatened to take me under.

He shifted, bringing one hand back and grasping my thigh, hoisting it higher so the inside of my thigh pressed against his rib cage. The sensations were starting to overwhelm me and my moans were getting louder and deeper.

"Oh, _God_." I nearly screamed as he began to thrust upwards instead of thrusting down into the bed.

The pleasure reached a breaking point and Edward moaned into my ear, "Come, Bella. You're right there, baby." My back arched again and I pushed my hands into his hair, pulling and scratching his scalp as I came.

He thrust two, three more times and he joined me, his body stilling as he thrust the last time deep inside me; with a long, low moan escaping his lips. He slumped a little bit against me, panting into my shoulder for a moment before he rolled off of me to discard the condom into his trash can. He rolled back, collecting my still trembling body in his arms and snuggling me to his chest. He pressed kisses all over my forehead and cheeks, finally placing a soft, slow kiss to my lips.

"'However it happens, it will be perfect'," he paraphrased wistfully as his hands began to slide along my back. I smiled into his chest, snuggling deeper.

"You should listen to me, I tend to be right." He chuckled and leaned back to look at me.

"I already told you, you were right about that."

"It's still nice to hear a man tell a woman she's right."

He flipped me onto my back with a growl and hovered over me again as I giggled.

"You are in for it now." And he lowered his head to suck my nipple roughly, bringing my laughter to an abrupt halt.

* * *

**I just want to quickly let everyone who doesn't already know that I have started a new story! It's called _Sanctum_ and it's an AU fanfic which can be found in my profile :') I hope that you read it and like it!**


	13. Alone Together

**Let's just pretend that I haven't been m.i.a. for the past month. **

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Two rounds later, Edward and I were curled up in his bed with the sheets tangled around our legs. We had been napping for a little while, and I had just woken up before him. I glanced over at his peaceful face and smiled. He was snuggled into the pillow next to me and his was face very close to my own. His body was partially resting on mine while he laid on his stomach and his arm wrapped around my waist. I sighed a little in contentment and looked up towards the ceiling.

Things were so perfect with Edward. He said all the right things; he made me feel perfect and desirable. He made me feel things that I never knew were possible. I tried not to let my mind wander to all of the bad things I thought could happen when it came to relationships. I needed to stop talking myself out of things. I just didn't feel good enough.

As if sensing my inner turmoil, Edward's arms tightened around me and he pulled me onto my side. I giggled a little at his sleepy movements as he pawed at me and moved his face into my neck.

"I like it when you're naked," he stated sleepily.

"I can tell." I smiled and closed my eyes, enjoying the feel of his lips on my skin.

"Can you?" he asked a little cheekily, as he moved his lips to mine, a slight grin coloring his features.

I bit my lip and rolled my hips a little, causing his erection to grind against my thigh. He groaned against my lips before fusing them back together with his with a renewed vigor. We kissed slowly, our tongues exploring and moving against one another. His hands were trying to be everywhere, sliding down my back, gripping my thigh, threading through my hair, never resting in one place for too long.

We seemed to move together without any words. As if we read each other's mind, we both knew what the other wanted and complied. Edward's hands tightened on my waist and he shifted on to his back just as I raised my thigh over his hip. We rolled over completely so I was straddling him with my hands resting on his chest, and his skimming lightly over the skin of my thighs. His head rested on the pillow, and he looked up at me lazily with a content smile playing across his lips.

"You are exquisite." His voice was just as soft as his touch as his right hand skimmed over my stomach and up to my breast, where he squeezed gently. I moaned in delight as his other hand came to lavishly attend to my other breast. I closed my eyes and let my head fall back. I felt him move beneath me, and then I felt his arms come around me to pull me towards his warm skin. I opened my eyes to meet his and his arms pulled me impossibly closer. He kissed me again, softly, before patting around on the bed for the strip of condoms that we had discarded somewhere. I continued to kiss him as he produced the condom, and I took it from him, sliding it on. I slightly lifted up on my knees and then lowered myself onto his erection. I bit my lip and groaned, loving the way he felt. He seemed to agree, tightening his arms around my waist and shifting his hips. I pressed my cheek to his temple and began to rock my hips as well. His lips came to press on my shoulder and his hands slid up my spine to splay across my shoulder blades.

We moved together as if we were of one mind. I fleetingly wondered how I could ever doubt that I was supposed to be with him, because in moments like this, as his lips moved across my chest to suck lightly at the hollow of my throat, I felt like there could be no one else in the world for me besides him. I gripped his shoulders and began to move my hips in a steady rhythm. We worked together, giving and taking, until I felt my stomach begin to clench.

I began to kiss all over his face and gripped tightly into his hair. His hands moved down to grip tightly on the flesh of my bottom, working me at a blinding pace against him. I was clawing desperately, so close to my release, and a keening noise began to emit from my throat. He seemed to understand, his own hips shifting and thrusting as quickly as he could manage, his hand coming around my hip and his thumb pressing firmly against my clit. I shuddered as I began to climax, and his thumb began to work in insistent circles. I groaned loudly in his ear until the full force of my orgasm hit me like a wrecking ball. My breath caught and my body went rigid as it ripped through me. My back bowed backwards and a scream fell from my mouth. All the while, Edward had never ceased his thrusting, and I gripped his shoulders more securely as he moved to his own release. He groaned and thrust a few more times before a deep growl formed deep in his throat and his body shuddered.

We collapsed against one another with Edward's hands falling loosely around my waist and my head fell to his shoulder. We panted together, our chests moving back and forth against each other. We rested for a few moments before Edward's hands slid to my shoulders. He pushed me back slightly and softly pressed his lips to mine for a moment before pulling back.

"Hi."

I giggled and wrapped my arms around his neck, leaning down to kiss him again.

"Hi."

"Did you have a nice nap?" he asked, his lips still brushing against mine.

"Very nice nap. Especially because I was so _thoroughly_ exhausted beforehand. Waking up was pretty nice too."

He smiled and pressed his lips to my neck. He nipped a little and I giggled at him, tightening my arms around his neck.

"Are you hungry? I think we should probably eat."

He pulled back and nodded, seemingly disappointed that we would have to get out of bed.

"I guess we should. Man cannot live on sex alone." The grin that was on his face made me wish that we could live on sex alone.

"Ok, I'll go find us something to eat." I kissed him noisily and lifted myself out of his lap. He groaned a little as he slid out of me. I hopped off the bed and grabbed one of his t-shirts off the floor and headed into the kitchen.

I hunted around, trying to find something to make quickly. It seemed Edward didn't keep much food in the house, and I assumed that his mother probably invited him up to the main house most of the time. I opened the refrigerator and found a carton of eggs. I took them out and set them on the counter before I turned and started pulling open cabinets, trying to find a frying pan. I bent over and started to rotate the Lazy Susan when I felt a pair of hands on my hips.

"You really need to stop bending over wearing nothing but a t-shirt. It's not good for my health."

I stood up and giggled as his arms came around me.

"Can I help you find something?"

"A frying pan? I'm going to make some scrambled eggs."

He kissed my cheek and shifted me to the side by my hips before ducking down and sorting through the pots in the cabinet.

"Aha!" he cried victoriously, holding a frying pan above his head like a trophy. I pulled it out of his hands and turned to start heating it up. I threw a little butter in the pan and felt Edward's arms come around me once more.

"What? No thank you? That took a lot of work."

I turned in his arms and pressed my lips lightly to his. "Thank you."

He shrugged. "It was nothing, really." A sly smirk came across his face.

I rolled my eyes at him and slapped his shoulder playfully. He started to tickle me and he pulled me to his chest, his lips pressed to my ear.

"I was wondering, since there is a very large bath tub up at the house, and that house is very empty, if you wanted to go up with me and enjoy it?"

I snuggled closer to his chest, but pulled my head back. "That sounds lovely."

"Good." And he kissed me once more, before letting me return to making the eggs. I quickly scrambled them in a bowl and dumped them over into the now hot pan. I popped some toast into the toaster on the counter. By the time the eggs were done, the toast had popped and Edward was standing next to me with two plates ready. I smiled at him and dished the eggs and toast onto the plates.

We sat and ate, talking quietly about last week when we had been apart. He still felt bad about Thursday, and I had to keep telling him to stop worrying about it. I found it endearing that he was so worried that I would be upset about it.

After we finished, I tried to clear up, but he just put the dishes into the sink and dragged me towards the door.

"Edward, wait. Can I at least grab something to put on after? Jesus." I laughed at his eagerness. He really was adorable.

He sighed. "I _suppose_."

I laughed again and ran back to his bedroom. I grabbed another set of the pretty underwear I had brought with me and I opened the drawer of Edward's dresser and pulled out one of his clean t-shirts. His clothes were so much better than mine and they smelled wonderful too.

I walked back out, having tucked my underwear into the t-shirt, and found Edward right where I left him in the living room with his arms crossed and staring towards the ceiling. I smiled, walked to him and placed my hand on his cheek. He smiled down at me and took my hand, leading me out the door.

The sun was still out, setting behind the trees that surrounded his house. We took the long way to the main house, going down his driveway to where it met the main drive and then up the sloping lawn. We walked slowly, taking in the scenery and the nice weather. I was glad that this t-shirt I was wearing was a little big, or else I would have been very embarrassed when the wind blew as we walked up the lawn.

Edward unlocked the front door and let me in, turning the alarm off quickly. He grabbed my hand once more and pulled me towards the stairs. I had never been upstairs in the main house, having only been in the kitchen and living room when we had been here for his birthday. We went up two sets of stairs to the third floor of the house. This is where Edward's childhood bedroom was, along with the largest bathroom in the house.

We walked into the bathroom and he turned the light over the sink on, casting the large bathroom in a soft light. I set my shirt on the counter and Edward turned to start the water. I hopped up to sit on the large expanse of counter next to the sink. This bathroom was about as big as the second level of my dad's house. It had a huge counter with dark granite counter tops, a shower with clear glass doors directly next to a _huge_ in floor bathtub. I think it could probably fit 3 people comfortably.

Edward was squatting down and turning the water on. I stared dreamily at the muscles of his back as they flexed while he balanced himself on one hand. He stood, pulling some sort of bottle off the rack over the tub and pouring some of its contents in. He pulled down a few more bottles, shampoo I assumed, and he turned around to face me, wiping his hands on his shorts.

"That will take a few minutes to fill up." He walked over to me, resting his hands on the cool surface on either side of me, and leaned in to press his lips to mine. In my opinion, it had been far too long since we had made out, so I took it upon myself to remedy that. I slid my hands over his bare chest and wrapped my legs around his waist. He smiled and made an approving noise while sliding his hands up my legs. He kissed me, his tongue wasting no time finding its way into my mouth. I hummed in appreciation, teasing his tongue with mine before letting him plunder my mouth however he pleased. He pulled back after a moment, kissing my top lip, and then my bottom lip, sucking on it softly. He let it go with a slight 'pop' noise. I smiled and started to giggle as he began to nip at my lips. He moved his hands up to grip my face and quickly kissed me several times in a row. I started to laugh out loud now and he just slid his hands down to hug me to him. He pulled back suddenly and moved over to the tub quickly, shutting off the taps.

He chuckled. "That would have been bad."

I smiled and slid off the counter. I moved to where Edward was standing and dipped my toe into the water. It was perfect. Edward slid his hands to the hem of my t-shirt and pulled it over my head. He held my hand and helped me move into the tub, and then he quickly pulled his shorts off to join me. He slid in behind me, wrapping his arms around my waist and dropping a kiss to the top of my head. I sighed happily and leaned back to rest against his chest.

"This is perfect." He hummed in agreement, and we fell into a comfortable silence.

After a few minutes, I pulled away to wet my hair. When I came back up, Edward pulled me back to him and opened the shampoo bottle, and began to wash my hair slowly. I moaned in delight as his fingers massaged my scalp, and then he lowered my shoulders to help me rinse my hair. Next, he gently washed my shoulders and back. I moved away as he finished and slid to the other side of the tub so I was facing him, and he began to wash his own hair. I smiled as I leaned back to watch him. It seemed that everything he did could completely enthrall me, no matter how mundane the activity.

He rinsed his hair and leaned back to mirror my posture.

"Where are your parents?" I asked, wondering how we had this house to ourselves.

He shrugged. "I think my dad had a conference out of town, so my mom went with him, and they decided to make a weekend of it. They should be back tomorrow night. They tend to be out of town at least two weekends a month. I usually spend them up here at the house anyway. I love this tub." He winked at me and I giggled.

We rested there for a while, enjoying the hot water and just being in each other's company. I felt the water move after a bit, and opened my eyes to see Edward moving towards me.

"Oh, I thought maybe you had fallen asleep. The water is starting to get cold, we should probably get out."

I nodded and he climbed out of the tub to retrieve a stack of towels from a cabinet. Running one through his hair quickly and wrapping it around his waist, he knelt down at the edge of the tub to help pull me out. He lifted me fairly effortlessly and set me on the floor, before quickly turning to grab me a towel and drape it over my shoulders.

"Do you want to stay here tonight? We can watch movies in my bedroom and I can call for Chinese." He was holding the ends of the towel and was tugging on it, pulling me towards him.

"Mmm. That sounds wonderful. I could go for some Chinese."

He pulled the towel so I was even closer to him and he pressed a lingering kiss to my lips and then one to my forehead.

"I'll go down and call for the food, and you can get dressed. What do you want?"

"Sweet and sour chicken is fine." He nodded and kissed me again, before turning and heading out of the bathroom.

I dried off and ran the towel through my hair. There were a few different kinds of lotions on the counter and I wondered who even used them, or if Esme simply kept the bathroom stocked incase someone was ever up here besides Edward. I smelled all of the bottles and found one that I liked. After I used a little of it, I got dressed and wandered across the hall to Edward's bedroom.

It, too, was larger than anything I'd ever seen. I think that most of his cottage could fit in his bedroom here. It was tastefully decorated, yet still with a distinct air of masculinity. A lot of his childhood things were gone, but some of his decorations from his high school years remained. I noticed a Kings of Leon poster on one wall. Why wasn't I surprised that he would be a KOL fanboy?

I smiled when I saw the towel he had used to dry off was thrown haphazardly over the bedpost. I walked over and removed it and placed it in the hamper near the closet. Turning back to the bed, I sighed. It was large, and looked like you could just sink into it and never come out. I walked to the end and fell backwards onto it. I had been right; it was like sinking into a cloud.

"You look quite at home."

I started a bit at the sound of his voice and looked up. He was leaning against the door jamb with his arms crossed, in a pair of basketball shorts.

"Are you boycotting shirts or something?" Not that I was really complaining.

"Are you boycotting pants?"

"No, I was just bum rushed out of the house and barely had time to get underwear, let alone pants."

He chuckled as he pushed off the door frame and walked toward me. I parted my legs a bit and he moved to stand between them. He leaned over, bracing his arms next to my head.

"Clothes are really unnecessary."

I bit my lip and met his eyes. He was grinning _that_ grin at me, the grin that was impossible for me to resist. He knew my weakness, and leaned down to kiss me softly. He didn't try to initiate anything, he just kissed me gently.

"You are the first girl to be in this bed."

This surprised me slightly.

"Really?"

"I didn't date many girls in high school, and Chloe never came home with me, so you are the first one." He smiled a bit proudly at me.

"Well then, I am honored."

He smiled wider and swooped down to kiss me again. He flipped over, landing next to me on his back.

"So, have you decided what you are going to do about school?"

Anyone else asking me this question would have been yelled at, but with Edward, I felt okay talking about this with him. He didn't judge me or make me choose something; he just listened and gave me his opinion.

"I don't know. I'm kind of leaning towards just registering for a few classes at the community college, and then maybe transferring for the spring semester. I really doubt my mother would be thrilled about that, but whatever."

Edward was quiet for a moment, and I looked over at him, wondering why he hadn't responded.

He was looking up at the ceiling, his brow furrowed as if he was worried about something.

"Can I ask, I mean, I've always wondered in all the time I've known you…" He paused and looked at me. "What is the deal with your mother?"

I snorted. This is what he was so worried about?

"She's a tyrant, that's what her deal is."

He rolled his eyes at me. "That's not what I mean. I just, I don't know. I guess I just want to understand why you regard her the way you do. If you don't want to tell me, I understand."

I sat up and crossed my legs. "I don't mind talking about it. There really isn't much to talk about. She's just an unhappy woman."

He sat up too, turning to face me. He put his hand on my leg and gave me a reassuring squeeze. Suddenly, I wasn't sure if I wanted to talk about her. I didn't know where to begin about it.

He took my hand now, and squeezed it, sensing my change in demeanor.

"How did your parents meet?" He prompted.

I shrugged, happy to have a place to start. "High school I guess. She had to have been human at some stage in her life. I often wonder what my dad even saw in her. There had to have been something. They got married and I was born. My mother wanted a divorce not too long after that. I don't think my dad put up much of a fight. So, from the time I was about 5, I spent my summers here with him. My mom didn't really like me coming up here too much; she said it took away from my school work. Even in the summer. I barely had time for friends because of all the extra studying she made me do. She only liked Alice because she was smart too."

He looked at me for a moment, processing.

"What does she think about you being here now?"

"Well, being as she sent me here, she hates it. She sent me here to get my life together, but she hates that I'm here. She calls my dad a few times a week to see what I'm doing. When he told her I had a job she was furious. She asked him how he could let me waste my life in a shoddy diner. He isn't afraid of her anymore though. He yelled at her." I chuckled.

"That sucks. She didn't even let you have a childhood."

I pulled my hand away from his and pulled my knees to my chest.

"I had fun at school. I had a few friends, but I never saw them outside of school. Why do you think I latched on to Jacob as much as I did? I didn't break things off with him because I knew I would lose the only semblance of freedom and fun I had. My mother hated him too, but she let me see him. But when he dumped me, she didn't even care. I'm pretty sure she was happy."

Edward moved and wrapped his arms around my shoulders. I let him pull my body to his. I didn't really want to talk about my mother anymore. I snuggled myself to his warm body. His strong arms came around me and squeezed as tight as he could manage. Suddenly, I just wanted him to consume me; wanted him to take it all away. I clawed my way into his lap, straddling him and kissing his mouth roughly.

"Edward," I whimpered. My body was trembling and I almost hated myself for the way I was melting down. He probably thought I was losing my mind.

He pulled his mouth away from mine and grabbed my face.

"Hey, hey, calm down, shhh." He pulled me to his chest again and I pressed my face into his shoulder. He stroked my hair and my back, making soft noises to soothe me. My breathing was beginning to relax when the door bell rang.

His arms tightened around me. "That's dinner. I'll be right back. Are you all right?"

I nodded and he released me, cupping my face and kissing me softly before he hurried out of the room and down the stairs. I crawled to the head of the bed and leaned against the headboard, my knees pulled to my chest once more.

What was wrong with me? I couldn't keep it together over one conversation about my mother? He probably thought I was insane. Then there was the part where I tried to rape him. Maybe if I just went home, this wouldn't be as bad.

Just as that thought entered my mind, Edward appeared with the cartons of take out and drinks. He smiled gently at me, and moved to join me on the bed.

"I might turn my mother gray if she knew we were going to eat Chinese up here, but we won't tell her, okay?"

And just like that, he'd moved on. And he made me remember why I was here with him.

"I don't actually like the sweet and sour sauce anyway. I just like the chicken."

He stared at me for a minute before a large smile broke across his face.

"You are truly one of a kind." And with that he started to sort the food. I just smiled to myself and accepted my carton of food.

"Do you want me to put a movie in?"

I snorted. "Sure. We don't really have the best track record with movies though."

He laughed and climbed off the bed. "I promise you, we will get through one movie today. We can be good and make it through a movie without groping each other." He smiled cheekily and selected a movie from the large tower next to the television.

We did make it through the first movie, _Princess Bride_. We were eating through most if it anyway. After it was over, he put another movie in and when he returned to the bed, he crawled between my legs and snuggled his back to my chest. I didn't even notice what movie he had put on. We made it through one movie, and now I wanted to get my grope on.

I slid my hands down his chest and pressed my mouth to his ear. "I'm done being good."

He groaned a little and shifted between my legs. He gripped my thighs and started to massage them roughly, while my hands wandered all over the expanse of his chest. I sucked and bit and the skin of his neck, nibbling his earlobe before my mouth rested on the nape of his neck. Then I bit him.

"_Christ_," he muttered, gripping my thighs so hard, I'm sure there would be thumb prints in them by morning. I just giggled and smoothed my tongue over it. I slid my one hand under his shoulder and around his side, moving my hand until it came in contact with his growing erection.

"You liked that."

He shifted suddenly so that he was hovering over me, and he gripped me behind my knees, tugging my down roughly so I was flat on the bed.

"Understatement," he nearly growled as his lips met mine.

He settled against me, his lips moving furiously, trying to be everywhere at once. I panted, my hands in his hair, trying to move him closer.

He pulled back, grabbing at my t-shirt and jerking it over my head. I fell backward onto the bed and his eyes watched as my breasts jiggled with the movement. He dove forward, nipping and biting at the swell of my breast before he slid his hand up my back to unclasp my bra. I wondered if he had lessons or something, because he was better than me at getting a bra off.

He grabbed it by the front and tugged it off, tossing it lazily behind him. He licked his lips and moved forward again, slower this time. His lips closed over my nipple and he sucked it into his mouth slowly, too slowly. The sensation was dragged out and my back bowed off the bed. He shifted a little to the side, and moved his hand to the waistband of my panties. His fingers slid beneath the elastic and moved with purpose to rub my clit. I groaned as the pace of his fingers matched the pace of his mouth on my nipple. He released it and leaned across my body to capture the other one. His fingers began to move faster and I lifted my knees to give him better access. He hummed in approval against my nipple, causing me to squirm and moan. His fingers dipped lower, two of them entering me. I was panting in earnest now as he started to move them in and out at a torturous pace. I grabbed his hair and pulled his mouth to mine, assaulting it with my tongue.

He started to move his hand faster now, shifting his palm so it rubbed my clit. I opened my legs even wider, trying to gain more friction. I wanted so desperately to come. His lips dragged across my cheek to my ear.

"Come, baby. Just let it go." That's all I needed. With one more thrust of his fingers, I was gone, arching off the bed, moaning my head off. I'm sure I sounded like a cheap porn star, but I didn't even care. I was panting as Edward started to remove my panties. He discarded them over his shoulder like he had with my bra and he leaned over me. I started to kiss anything I could get, his shoulders, his face, his chest, anything in my reach. I stopped and looked up when I felt him shifting awkwardly. He was leaning, his hand in the bedside table, muttering.

"Found it," he said to himself, but I giggled. He looked down at me and smiled, moving the condom into my line of sight. "I knew there was at least one in here."

"Well, thank God for that."

He placed the condom on my chest and rolled off the bed quickly, removing his shorts and climbing back over me. I reached down, stroking his erection lightly and he opened the condom and rolled it on.

"Roll over."

_Ooohh. _

I rolled to my stomach and I felt his hands slide up my thighs and rest right below my hips, pulling them up so I was almost on my knees, but not fully supporting my weight on them. I felt him press into me, slowly, savoring every inch as he entered me. He stilled for a moment when he was completely inside, his one hand sliding down to rest on the front of my thigh, the other coming to rest next to my head to support him.

He finally began to move, rolling his hips in the most delicious way as his lips grazed across my shoulders. My head lolled forward and he took to opportunity to move his lips to the nape of my neck. He kissed and sucked a little before then with one particularly sharp thrust, he sunk his teeth down into my skin. I gasped, my body trembling as my legs gave out. His hand moved from my thigh to brace against my stomach, keeping me upright.

"You seem to like that, too." His voice held no evidence of exertion as he breathed in my ear.

"Understatement," I panted, echoing his words from before.

He chuckled lightly, picking up his pace now. He pressed kisses all over my shoulders and spine, his hand on my stomach dancing and tickling the skin. I started to thrust back against him, greedy for more. His hand on my stomach moved lower, and he started circling my clit. His breath was starting to pick up, and he was panting into my shoulder now, placing a kiss or a bite every few seconds. I arched my back a little, spreading my legs wider as his thrusts became more powerful and sporadic.

I was fast approaching my release, his fingers on my clit were working furiously and I was moaning his name like one long word. _Edwardedwardedwardedward._ He snapped his hips forward a few more times, the pace of his fingers blinding when I finally fell over the edge, trembling. His fingers didn't stop and his thrusts picked up, two, three more times before he bit into my shoulder as he came.

He rolled us to the side and wrapped his other arm around me as we regained composure. As I tried to slow my breathing, I felt his lips on my shoulder where he had bitten me. He was kissing and sucking gently, sliding his tongue over the bite to soothe it. With one more kiss, he slowly pulled out of me and got out of the bed. He moved towards the other side of the room where the garbage was, disposed of the condom and turned the lights out, along with the movie that was still playing. I crawled under the blankets and he joined me, lying mostly on top of me with his face pressed behind my ear.

"Thank you for telling me about your mother," he said softly after a minute.

I wrapped my arms around his shoulders and moved my face to his.

"Thank you for listening and not freaking out when I freaked out."

He leaned up a little and kissed me. It was slow and gentle, his tongue caressing mine softly before he pulled back, looking at me in a way that made me feel warm inside.

"Don't worry about it. You weren't really freaking out, and I don't really blame you for getting upset. I would too."

"Thank you," I said again.

He kissed me again chastely, and snuggled into my neck, his one hand resting just under my breast on my ribs. I threaded my fingers into his hair and closed my eyes. I felt his breathing even out after a little bit and I sighed contently, pressing my lips to his forehead and then snuggling my cheek to it, and let sleep take me.

* * *

**Posting is going to be a lot more regular, I promise. I just started a new job and I've been having issues managing my time. I'll probably post every other week, updating this and _Sanctum_ alternately. **


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